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Pragmalinguistic features of contemporary English-language rhetoric of political conflict

Liberal Arts in Russia. 2023. Vol. 12. No. 1. Pp. 46-56.
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Chikileva L. S.
Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation
49 Leningradsky Avenue, 125993 Moscow, Russia
Email: lchikileva@fa.ru
Aleshina E. Yu.
Penza State University
40 Krasnaya Street, 440026 Penza, Russia

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the specifics of modern English-language public political rhetoric in a situation of political conflict. The political context implies a conflict situation of a geopolitical nature, in which the countries of the West, Ukraine and Russia are involved. The English rhetoric discussed in the article reflects the position of one side of the conflict. The research interest of the authors is aimed at identifying the genre characteristics of the political leader’s public speeches, as well as the pragmalinguistic features of public speeches: the strategy of behavior in conflict, the strategies and tactics of manipulation. The authors of the article come to the conclusion that the speeches in question, which can be classified as belonging to the persuasive-invocative genre, contain strategies of manipulative political discourse that determine the pragmalinguistic characteristics of public speech. These strategies include the following: the strategy of downgrading or discrediting (used towards the opposing part in the conflict) with tactics of accusation and denouncing; the strategy of promotions (used towards own part in the conflict) with tactics of presentation; the strategy of theatricality used to make an impact on the audience. The idiostylistic characteristics of the speeches under analysis feature multiple addresses to different social groups of the listeners incorporated in the text of the speech. The emphatic component is strengthened by means of stylistic devices used in the text.

Keywords

  • • public political discourse
  • • political rhetoric
  • • political conflict
  • • manipulation strategies and tactics

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