PECULIARITIES OF THE CURRENT DISCOURSE OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS

Abstract

Summary. The article is devoted to the study of the verbal realization of the phenomenon of agonality in the discourse of American Republican politicians as a phenomenon still understudied in modern linguistics. The discourse of these politicians is chosen because it is this political force that is blocking the aid that our country desperately needs. An analysis of the linguistic component of their discourse can contribute to the elimination of this problem. Political discourse is a specific phenomenon that has a special social significance and a high frequency of manifestation. Accordingly, it has a number of characteristic features, one of which is its agonality, which is an integral part of the discourse of the struggle for power. In political linguistics, agonality is considered as one of the defining characteristics of political discourse associated with the intention to win over one’s political opponents. The agonality of the political discourse is achieved by the competition between the opponents who participate in it, its basis is a continuous political dialogue, a linguistic duel between the party in power and the opposition, in which the opponents from time to time confront each other, hold the levers of power, repel blows and go on the offensive. That is, the essence of discursive agonality consists in struggle, competitiveness, aiming at achieving victory. The goal of agonal discourse is to establish intellectual superiority, achieve moral satisfaction in political disputes and debates, and win elections. Today’s pre-election discourse of Republican politicians is also characterized by a high degree of agonality. To implement discursive agonality, republicans resort to the following tactics: accusations, impersonal accusations, exposure, insults. Republican politicians embody these tactics with the help of certain verbal means, namely adjectives and nouns with negative and discrediting connotations, gerundial constructions, imperative and conditional forms of verbs, metaphors. In their speeches, the politicians mentioned above also refer to historical events, which significantly increases the degree of agonality of their discourse. The modern discourse of Republicans is highly agonal, aimed at discrediting their political opponents and winning elections.