What is an expressive illocutionary point?

An expressive illocutionary point is an illocutionary point which communicates an attitude or emotion about the state of affairs described in the propositional content of the utterance.

According to certain analyses, an expressive illocutionary point is one of the five basic purposes that a speaker can have in making an utterance.

• What is an illocutionary point?

Searle and Vanderveken 1985 39–40

Crystal 1985 116

Context for this page:

• Concept module: expressive illocutionary point
• In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): E
• In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
• In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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