CLASSIFICATION OF VERBAL MEANS EXPRESSING NONVERBAL UNITS ACCORDING TO THEIR REFLECTION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ATTITUDES

Abstract

 This scholarly study examines 420 paralinguistic units extracted from the Büyük Türkçe Sözlük (Comprehensive Turkish Dictionary), analyzing their semantic and structural features in depth. The primary focus is on how these paralinguistic expressions convey human emotions, attitudes, and psychological states through nonverbal means, outside of spoken language. Particular attention is given to units such as gülmek (to laugh), gülümsemek (to smile), omuz vermek (to support), dudak bükmek (to pout), morarmak (to bruise or turn blue), baş sallamak (to nod), göz kırpmak (to blink), el sallamak (to wave), kekelemek (to stutter), and dikleşmek (to straighten up or resist), which are thoroughly analyzed within their contextual usage. Each paralinguistic unit is evaluated based on how it expresses internal feelings, emotional responses, and interpersonal attitudes, with a focus on their semantic range and communicative function. The relevance of this research lies in the fact that paralinguistics has not yet been fully established as an independent field within Turkish linguistics. Therefore, this study represents one of the first systematic attempts to classify and analyze paralinguistic elements found in the Turkish explanatory dictionary. In conclusion, the study offers a classification of Turkish paralinguistic units according to their emotional coloring, phonational and kinetic properties, semantic scope, and structural characteristics. The findings aim to highlight the linguistic and communicative significance of paralinguistic tools and serve as both a theoretical and practical resource for linguists, translators, literary scholars, and cultural researchers.