adjective
- relating to or involving factors outside of language itself, such as context, gesture, tone, or social situation that affect communication
Usage: commonly used in linguistics, communication studies, and semiotics
Examples
- The speaker's extralinguistic cues, such as facial expressions and hand gestures, conveyed as much meaning as the words themselves.
- In conversation, extralinguistic factors like tone of voice and body language often determine how a message is interpreted.
- Linguists study extralinguistic elements to understand how people communicate beyond the structure of language.
- The extralinguistic context of a historical document can reveal the author's true intentions.
- Extralinguistic communication includes eye contact, posture, and proximity between speakers.