THE CATEGORY OF EXPRESSIVENESS AS A LEXICO-SEMANTIC PHENOMENON IN THE ENGLISH POLITICAL DISCOURSE (BASED ON B. JOHNSON’S AND R. SUNAK’S POLITICAL SPEECHES)

Abstract

The article deals with verbal representation peculiarities of the category of expressiveness as a lexico-semantic phenomenon in the English political discourse. The relevance of the study of expressiveness of the political discourse in terms of semantics is backed up by the pivotal role of the former to enhance intellectual and emotional impact on the recipients while realizing the pragmatic potency of the political speech. The category of expressiveness, being multi-faceted, is treated in this study as an intensifying epitome of the illocutionary force of a certain micro-context in an utterance which is formed by both intrinsic semantic features of lexical units and subjective intentions of the speaker. Having the purpose in mind of identifying lexico-semantic peculiarities of the category of expressiveness’ verbalization in the English political discourse, we have analyzed B. Johnson’s and R. Sunak’s political speeches devoted to the topic of Russian military full-scale aggression against Ukraine. Lexis with inherent and adherent expressiveness was clustered into lexico-semantic groups «refuge seeking and refugees» and «economic state of a country». It was established that within the former lexico-semantic group the semantic content of positive emotive lexis comprises such subgroups as «Resilience of the forcibly displaced» and «Support of the affected», of negative emotive lexis – «Flow / Influx of refugees» and «Suffering of the Inflicted», of neutral emotive lexis – «Refugees / Migrants», «People who lost their homes». Within the latter lexico-semantic group the semantic content of positive emotive lexis comprises such subgroups as «Economic growth / Stability / Prosperity» and «Increase of investments», of negative emotive lexis – «Recession / Economic decline» and «Unemployment», of neutral emotive lexis «Economic dynamics», «Financial situation». Politicians, resorting to expressive lexis of the semantics outlined above, exert a profound influence on the general public’s perception of problems related to refugees and following the war economic state of either of the belligerent countries as it will ensue from the policy of support versus the policy of the imposed sanctions on the part of the Western Alliance countries. As a result, they shape societal narratives among their target audience.