POLITICAL MEDIA DISCOURSE: LINGUISTIC REALIZATION OF A MANIPULATIVE FUNCTION

Abstract

Introduction. This article gives reasons for recognizing the political media discourse a separate discourse type and it also examines linguistic realization of a manipulative function within the political media discourse. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to expose an integrative and complex nature of the political media discourse as a separate discourse type and to identify specificities of linguistic means used within it to exert a manipulative impact on the recipient. Results. The article holds that the political media discourse is a separate discourse type that, similar to any other type of the discourse, is a unity of the process and its result. Integrating typical features of the political and media discourses, it possesses a number of its own specific functional features, the main of which is instrumentality. Instrumentality is immediately connected with anguage – the main means (an instrument) of communication, which explains its paramount significance for formation of political media texts. Linguistic realization of the instrumental function molds in the receiver this or that emotional mood, thus affecting his/her train of thoughts in the way intended by the text producer. If such an impact on the receiver’s mind is intentionally covert, it is qualified as manipulative, characteristic of political media texts. A manipulative impact is achieved by the use of pronouns: the personal pronouns “you”,”we”, “they”, when realizing their meaning of inclusiveness, create an illusion of positive and objective information; the personal pronouns “we” and “you”, when realizing their meaning of generalization, create an illusion of a unified and commonly accepted opinion. A manipulative impact is also achieved by the use of rhetoric questions, declarative sentences used instead of interrogative ones, by the use of different kinds of repetition, by polysyndeton, parcelation, etc. A manipulative impact is a pragmatic effect of the political media text, which results employment of concrete communicative strategies embodied in different nominative, axiological, and rhetoric linguistic means. It is also done by a particular composition of the political media text. Originality. Originality of this article is provided by a complex approach to the analysis of the discourse. The article substantiates the necessity of recognition the political media discourse a separate discourse type and contributes to the discourse analysis, in particular to the studies of its cognitive and pragmatic characteristics. The perspective of the problem under discussion can be seen in the analysis of concrete manipulative techniques used within the political media discourse. Conclusion. Thus, the political media discourse is a separate discourse type that integrates typical features of the political and media discourses; it is a unity of the process and its result. Among its numerous functional features the main is instrumentality, which, from a linguistic perspective, presumes an impact, especially manipulative, on the receiver. Realization of such an impact is achieved by use of different linguistic means: nominative, axiological, and rhetoric