Hinnangulisele

Hinnangulisele is a term used in Estonian linguistics to describe the way language encodes evaluative stance toward a proposition, event, or participant. The word combines hinnang, meaning assessment or evaluation, with the suffix -ulisele, which in linguistic analysis is used to indicate direction toward evaluation rather than a property of the noun itself. In discourse analysis, hinnangulisele is considered part of stance or appraisal, focusing on the speaker’s attitude, judgment, or evaluative position embedded in utterances. It is not a separate grammatical mood but a functional label for constructions that express approval, disapproval, importance, or value.

Hinnangulisele can appear in several syntactic forms, including evaluative adjectives and adverbs, evaluative clauses, and nominal phrases that carry evaluative force. In Estonian texts, such usage tends to appear in formal or critical writing, academic prose, and media commentary where the author explicitly marks their evaluative position. The concept provides a framework for analyzing how arguments are framed and how audiences are guided to interpret information, aligning with broader theories of stance, appraisal, and affect in linguistics.

Usage and interpretation may vary across texts, and researchers often examine hinnangulisele alongside other evaluative mechanisms to understand how language communicates subjective judgment. See also stance, appraisal theory, evaluative discourse, and Estonian grammar.