Nonverbal means of emotions

Abstract

Anthropocentric paradigm of modern linguistics is characterized by an increased interest in the problems of language and speech representation of emotions. Emotions play a vey important role in cognition of the world and its understanding. Emotions are not yet a form of cognition, but they cause certain experiences in the human’s mind, that is, the experience of his attitude to himself, to reality, to cognition and activity. It is a specific, unique form of cognition, reflection and evaluation of the surrounding reality by an individual. The attitude of certain objects to the existence of a person as a natural and social being, to his needs and aspirations and individual’s attitude to them is reflected in emotions. The research of emotions is impossible without a comprehensive analysis of nonverbal behavior as biologically determined system, which is an integral part of the process of communication. There are at least two semiotic planes of emotions - verbal, representing the linguistic expression of emotions and nonverbal representing physiological manifestation of emotions. All human interaction with the environment has a certain emotional coloring. Emotions are naturally included in the communication between people. This emotional attitude accompanying verbal expression, forms nonverbal aspects of information exchange – non-verbal communication. The peculiarity of the elements of nonverbal communication is that they are formed earlier than the verbal part of the utterance, which is superimposed on the previously expressed nonverbal part. Different kinds of relationships can develop between verbal and nonverbal components. As a rule, the emotional context of speech, followed by paralinguistic component is identical to its logical sense and greatly enhances it. The main nonverbal means of expressing emotions are kinetic, phonic, graphic and proxemic.