What role do figures of speech play in conveying emotion in French

Figures of speech play a significant role in conveying emotion in French by enriching the expression of feelings and emotional states through vivid, imaginative language. They influence how interlocutors perceive and emotionally respond to discourse, thereby enhancing communication and emotional engagement.

Emotional Expression in French Discourse

Figures of speech such as idioms, metaphors, and other expressive means are central to eliciting emotional reactions in French. They serve not only to describe emotions but also to intensify emotional impact and create empathetic connections between speakers. In French business and media discourse, these linguistic tools help shape the emotional tone and coherence of communication, guiding the listener’s emotional experience. ¹

Specific Linguistic Devices

In literary and conversational French, prosodic features (intonation, stress), exclamatory formulations, sound symbolism (like onomatopoeia), and other phonetic expressives complement figures of speech to vividly convey emotional states. These elements collectively enhance the emotive power of language, making feelings more palpable and immediate to the audience. ^{2, 3}

Idioms and Conventional Expressions

Idiomatic expressions inherently carry affective meaning, signaling strong emotions or attitudes. They function as culturally embedded shortcuts that allow speakers to communicate complex emotions efficiently. For example, French idioms and formulas often embed emotional connotations that resonate deeply with native speakers, thereby enriching emotional communication. ⁴

Interactional and Pragmatic Impact

Figures of speech also function pragmatically in interaction, such as in conveying disagreement or emotional stance subtly and effectively through indirect speech acts or specific verbal expressions. This nuanced use of language helps manage emotional dynamics in conversation, making language a powerful tool for social and emotional engagement in French. ^{3, 5}

In summary, figures of speech in French are vital for vivid emotional communication, using culturally nuanced idioms, prosody, and expressive devices to evoke and modulate emotions effectively in both literary and everyday contexts. ^{5, 1, 2, 3, 4}

References

• Linguistic ways of expressing emotions in French business discourse (based on business media texts)

• Graphic Realization of Phonetic Expressive Means of Emotivity (Based on the Works of Fiction of Modern French, English and German Authors)

• Prosody and speech act interpretation: The case of French indirect requests

• The Affective Nature of Formulaic Language: A Right-Hemisphere Subcortical Process

• Multimodal Practice for Mobilizing Response: The Case of Turn-Final Tu Vois ‘You See’ in French Talk-in-Interaction

• Emotivity in the Voice: Prosodic, Lexical, and Cultural Appraisal of Complaining Speech

• Speakers’ emotional facial expressions modulate subsequent multi-modal language processing: ERP evidence

• Algorithmic voice transformations reveal the phonological basis of language-familiarity effects in cross-cultural emotion judgments

• « Dire, montrer, argumenter » l’émotion : variations de l’intensité émotionnelle dans la presse après l’attentat contre Charlie Hebdo

• Cross-Cultural Calibration of Words and Emotions: Referential, Constructionist, and Pragmatic Perspectives

• Emotivity in the Voice: Prosodic, Lexical, and Cultural Appraisal of Complaining Speech

• Generating Responses with a Specific Emotion in Dialog

• The affective life of semiotics

• Teaching Affects in French as a Foreign Language. A Trial focusing on Intensifiers in Collocations

• Prosody and grammar of other-repetitions in French: The interplay of position and composition

• Language Is a Unique Context for Emotion Perception