Find out about emotive language, what is it? Its definition, examples, uses and benefits are in this handy blog which is made for students. Perfect for improving writing skills.
Table of Contents
What is Emotive Language?
Emotive language, also known as emotional language, is a set of words chosen to evoke an emotional reaction. Word choice has a significant impact on how people interpret writing and speaking. Therefore, the words should be chosen with care in order to have the desired effect. This language is favored in various writing and story styles. It utilizes emotion to convey a feeling to the reader.
Definition of Emotive Language
Emotional language is defined as “the utilization of certain words to elicit an emotional reaction and effect.”
Example of Emotive Language
You may have an idea now about what exactly is emotive language and through these emotive language examples, it will strengthen your foundation even more. Below I will list down two sentences so that you can identify emotive sentences and also learn the difference between ordinary and emotive sentences.
Ordinary sentence: The man was badly injured
Emotive sentence: The victim was left with horrific injuries.
As you can see, being badly injured does give an idea that the injuries were critical, however, it doesn’t convey the seriousness of the injuries to the readers. In the emotive example, the choice word was horrific injuries which evoke emotion and also tell the seriousness of the situation.
Ordinary Sentence: a thief killed a man after looting him.
Emotive Sentence: a thief brutally murdered the poor victim after looting all his belongings
In the ordinary sentence, the writer only gives information about the incident. In the emotive sentence the word, murdered and poor victim is used to add emotion and to make the readers feel the pain.
The writer merely provides information about the incident in the ordinary sentence. The words brutally, murdered, and poor victim is used in the emotional sentence to add emotion and to let the readers experience the pain.
Uses of Emotive Language
Aside from influencing the way the audience/reader reacts, emotive language can be used in various ways. Mostly, emotive language is used in English Literature. It is also used in daily life as well, such as
Advertisements:
Emotive language is used in advertisements to help reach the right audiences by utilizing certain emotions that can help convert potential customers into paying customers.
Poems:
The poets utilize emotive language to make a point of passing the feelings in the words to their readers.
Speeches:
Speeches by influential people are all prepared with the thought of influencing the thoughts of the listeners’ minds
Novels:
The writer of any genre of a novel aims to portray a character in a way that makes the reader feel what the character feels.
Movies and Drama:
Same as the novels, the main aim of the writer of a movie and drama is to convey the feeling of the character in a way that has an emotional impact on the one watching it as well.
Marketing slogans:
Marketing slogans are one the most important examples of emotive language, as it is not only thought-provoking but is also done in very few words.
Public Announcements:
Public service announcements are an effective example of emotive language because public announcements aim to provoke emotions in the audience to bring about a change.
Journals:
Personal diaries and journals are also good examples of emotive language, as people tend to write down their honest emotions and truest opinions in it.
Benefits of Emotive Language
- It is used as a persuasive technique to persuade the reader.
- It helps influence the readers.
- it stimulates an emotional reaction from the reader or audience.
- Better conveys the information to the writer.
- Better responses from the writer
- It allows the reader to connect with the characters
- Used as an expressive tools
Emotive Words
Below we have compiled some emotive words for you:
|
Adjectives |
Abstract Nouns |
Verbs |
Emotive Adverbs |
|
Appalling |
Freedom |
Destroyed |
Angrily |
|
Wonderful |
Joy |
Amused |
Defiantly |
|
Magical |
Love |
thrilled |
Proudly |
|
Miserable |
Terror |
Betrayed |
Beautifully |
|
Gruesome |
Horrific |
Collapsed |
Anxiously |
These are just some of the emotive words, I hope you must have understood what makes the writing and speeches emotional.
Impact of Emotive Language
The main aim of emotive language is to impact the emotion of the reader and audience. When used correctly and effectively, it can elicit a certain reaction from an audience. However, it should not be overused and should only be utilized when the speaker wishes to achieve a certain goal.
Connotations
To properly understand emotive language, one must also understand connotation. Connotation is the usage of words in such a way that the text’s meaning differs from its exact meaning. Denotation and connotation are the two meanings a sentence can hold. Denotation is the literal meaning of the text and the connotation of emotional or implied meanings of the words.
The connotation and emotive language are used together to maximize the effect of words and sentences written in the emotive style.
Example:
The word “Gritty” literal meaning is “rough texture” so in a literal sense we might say:
The sandpaper is gritty.
But we can also use it like this too:
This side of town is pretty gritty.
Now, it doesn’t mean that the town’s texture is rough but that this side of town is considered to be a tough neighborhood, which means it has some issues related to crime and poverty. This is what the connotation is.
Looking for Best Emotive Language Help?
Assignment Studio is one of the top websites that provide excellent writing help. Our writing help providers offer assistance to students who can’t write their assignments, essays and others. Therefore, if you are given an assignment to write using emotive language and you have no idea what it is and you are stuck then you can avail our help.
By taking assistance from our expert writers, you can achieve excellent grades in your assignments.
