Erkifejezés

Erkifejezés is a neologistic term used in some Hungarian-language discussions to refer to the linguistic expression of ethical or normative content. The word combines erkölcs (ethics) with kifejezés (expression) and is encountered mainly in niche philosophical, pragmatics, or translation studies literature. It is not part of standard Hungarian lexicon and has no universally accepted definition.

In usage, erkifejezés describes how moral evaluation, obligations, or rightness are conveyed in speech or text, including evaluative adjectives, predicates, imperatives, and performatives that express a speaker's moral stance. The concept is often applied in discourse analysis to distinguish ethical judgments from purely descriptive statements.

Ideally, erkifejezés helps analyze cross-cultural differences in moral emphasis; researchers may compare how different languages encode normative content, or how translation choices alter moral signaling.

Examples are typically analyzed rather than quoted. For instance, a sentence expressing that an action is morally obligatory might be treated as an erkifejezés of obligation, whereas a value-laden description like ez igazán jó would be considered an erkifejezés of positive evaluation.

Because of its marginal status, the term is sometimes replaced by more transparent phrases such as etikai kifejezés or erkölcsi megítélés kifejezése in scholarly work.

History and status: The term appeared in late 20th or early 21st century in theoretical discussions and has not achieved broad consensus. Its acceptance varies by field and author.