exprimat

Exprimat is a term used in theoretical discussions to denote the expressive dimension of communication—the aspects of a message that convey speaker attitude, emotion, or stance beyond its propositional content. The word is a neologism derived from Latin exprimere, “to press out,” and is not universally standardized. In linguistics and semiotics, exprimat refers to how a sign encodes affect or stance through prosody, intonation, tempo, gesture, or lexical choice, separate from its literal meaning. Some researchers treat exprimat as a measurable variable in discourse analysis, while others view it as a qualitative dimension of interpretation.

In practice, exprimat is used to analyze how authors or speakers signal irony, enthusiasm, skepticism, or formality. Examples include the rising intonation on a tag phrase or the deliberate choice of hedges to express caution. Critics caution that the term can overlap with established concepts such as pragmatics, affect, or voice, and that its boundaries vary by theoretical framework.

Within studies of rhetoric and digital communication, exprimat can help explain how readability and perceived sincerity are influenced by expressive cues. See also: expression, pragmatics, semiotics, affect, voice.