Expressive Function of Language: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The aim of the systematic review is to formulate the content of the expressive function of language that meets the objectives of the pragmatically oriented field established in linguistics in recent decades. The paper examines the history of development of the issue of the expressive language function in global and Russian linguistics. The author traces the formation of the theory of language functions in linguistics and the evolution of views on the expressive function of language, its meaning and content. Particular attention was paid to the assessment of the extent to which the issue of the influencing role of expression had been elaborated and to the analysis of related terminology. The work is novel in that it summarised the experience of Russian and foreign linguists in studying the expressive function of language from the modern perspective of development of the linguistic expressiveness theory. As a result of the analysis, the opinion about the independent position and importance of the expressive function in the language system formed in linguistics has been demonstrated. In addition, the main approaches to determining the place of the expressive function among other language functions and its content have been outlined.