Interjections and face emojis are super-linguistic commenting expressives that can accompany different speech-act types, not emotive assertions or exclamations in the relevant sense.

Interjections and face emojis are super-linguistic commenting expressives that can accompany different speech-act types, not emotive assertions or exclamations in the relevant sense.

• The emotive-assertion analysis must be distinguished from interjections such as Ouch! and Wow!, which lack independent asserted content and instead comment on a target proposition or question.
• Expressive interjections are not assertions, as illustrated by the infelicity of responses such as “Me too!” and “Yeah, it is obvious” to standalone Ouch! or Wow!.
  Evidence for this premise (2)

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  We agree completely that expressive interjections are not assertions.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p1

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  We agree completely that expressive interjections are not assertions.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p1
• Interjections can occur with distinct speech-act types, including questions and commands, rather than being restricted to assertions.
  Evidence for this premise (2)

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  those interjections can apply to different kinds of speech acts

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p4

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  those interjections can apply to different kinds of speech acts

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p4
• Face emojis have a use in which they comment on a target proposition expressed by accompanying text instead of making an independent contribution to discourse, and they too combine with various speech acts.
  Evidence for this premise (2)

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  they comment on a target proposition expressed by the accompanying text, as opposed to making an independent contribution to discourse.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p5

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  they comment on a target proposition expressed by the accompanying text, as opposed to making an independent contribution to discourse.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p5
• In the proposed assertion case, “Wow” takes the asserted proposition that the movie is good as its argument, comments on it, and conveys that the speaker is happy about it.
  Evidence for this premise (2)

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  Wow comments on p and conveys that the speaker is happy about p

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p7

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  Wow comments on p and conveys that the speaker is happy about p

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p7
• On Grosz et al.'s account, emojis contribute information about participants' affective attitudes toward propositions expressed by linguistic discourse components.
  Evidence for this premise (2)

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  emojis contribute information about the participants’ affective attitudes towards propositions

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p6

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  emojis contribute information about the participants’ affective attitudes towards propositions

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p6
• The additional proposition supplies the actual content, while the interjection is complementary to that content, as discussed for gestures.
  Evidence for this premise (2)

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  it is the additional proposition that gives that actual content

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p3

  The landscape of exclamations: brief musings on emotive language — Interjections as super-linguistic verbal emojis rather than emotive assertions

  it is the additional proposition that gives that actual content

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2008#unit-4-p3

These are challenges this argument’s reasoning pattern must still withstand. Answering them on Isonomia strengthens the argument.

• Does the case fit the category?Open

No one has cited this argument yet.

No arguments cite this one yet — no one has built on or contested it. That is an absence of engagement, not a finding of soundness. Build on or contest it on Isonomia to change that.