Attitudinális

Attitudinális is a term used in linguistics to describe language that encodes the speaker’s attitude toward the proposition, including evaluation, certainty, or emotional stance. It concerns not only the propositional content but also how the speaker relates to or judges that content.

In linguistic analysis, attitudinális meaning is situated within semantics and pragmatics as part of stance-taking or evaluative language. Attitudinális expressions convey the speaker’s position, such as belief, doubt, approval, or disapproval, and can reflect both cognitive and affective states. The concept encompasses but is not limited to modal meaning; it covers the broader spectrum of how speakers express their subjective stance toward what is being said.

Forms of attitudinális realization include lexical items, constructions, and prosody that signal attitude. Examples include attitude verbs and phrases like “úgy vélem” (I think), “szerintem” (in my opinion), or “úgy érzem” (I feel), evaluative adjectives like “fontos” (important) or “helytelen” (inadequate), and mood modifiers or discourse markers such as “sajnos” (unfortunately) or “boldogan” (bravely). Intonation and emphasis also contribute to attitudinális shading.

Attitudinális language is commonly analyzed in corpus linguistics and discourse analysis as part of broader stance-taking research. It interacts with modality, evidentiality, and affective expression, helping to reveal speakers’ subjective orientation beyond factual content. Related notions include stance, evaluative language, and affective expression.

Examples:

- Úgy vélem, ez a megoldás jó.

- Szerintem ez rendben van.

- Sajnálom, hogy elkéstünk.

- Boldogan fogadtuk az új ötletet.