CC BY
154
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18454/RULB.2020.23.3.28
РОЛЬ НЕОЛОГИЗМОВ В ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОМ ДИСКУРСЕ
Научная статья
Ессина И.Ю. *
ORCID: 0000-0002-8645-7452, Саратовская государственная юридическая академия, Саратов, Россия
* Корреспондирующий автор (essina[at]rambler.ru)
Аннотация
Данная статья исследует материал общественно-политического формата, манипулятивную силу воздействия слов, их непосредственного влияния на сознание и поведение. Авторы акцентируют внимание на неологизмах как лексических средствах речевой манипуляции, которые порождают определенные смысловые оттенки, искажают понимание, вводят в заблуждение, создают конфликтные ситуации. В статье анализируются некоторые аспекты теоретического изучения политического дискурса как мощного ресурса для создания благоприятного имиджа и такое явление как "завоевание словом", актуальность которого выражена сложившейся политической ситуацией в мире.
Ключевые слова: политический дискурс, медийный материал, речевая манипуляция, неологизмы, коммуникация.
THE ROLE OF NEOLOGISMS IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE
Research article
Essina I.Yu. *
ORCID: 0000-0002-8645-7452, Saratov State Law Academy, Saratov, Russia
* Corresponding author (essina[at]rambler.ru)
Abstract
This article explores the material of social and political nature, the manipulative power of words, and their direct impact on consciousness and behavior. The authors focus on neologisms as a lexical means of speech manipulation that generates additional connotations, obscures understanding, misleads, and creates conflicting situations. The article analyzes some aspects of the theoretical study of political discourse as a powerful resource for creating a favorable image and such a phenomenon as "winning over with the word", the relevance of which is expressed by the current political situation in the world.
Keywords: political discourse, media material, speech manipulation, neologisms, communication.
Introdaction
Wordstock is responsive to all changes in various spheres of human life. The replenishment of the vocabulary, in general, is related to its functioning in society. The needs of society lead to the emergence and formation of new words and language structures. Languages constantly influence and enrich each other through linguistic change, cultural interaction, and exchange of cultural values. It leads to the process of replenishing the vocabulary and enriching the language by the formation of neologisms. The new vocabulary reflects the current changes and realities in the political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of society [7, P. 58]. Various linguistic and extralinguistic factors play a role in a particular situation. Their interaction helps the process of replenishing the vocabulary gaps in the lexical structure of the language. It is much more convenient to process and assimilate the already applicable and used name of the same phenomenon than to provide a new nomination based on the actualization of a particular attribute [2, P. 10].
The English language is a link to integration between millions of people worldwide. The Internet, which is considered to be the leading type of mass media, provides the widest technical opportunities for communication, which is especially important for political discourse. Political discourse is primarily focused on persuading people to take specified political actions or to make crucial political decisions. To convince the potential electorate in present-time societies, politics basically dominates mass media, which leads to creating new forms of linguistic manipulation; e.g., modified forms of press conferences and press statements, updated texts in slogans, application of catchphrases, phrasal allusions, the connotative meanings of words, and a combination of language and visual imagery [6, P. 111].
Political communication is primarily impact-oriented, so it is dialogical in nature. Recently, due to the popularization of blogging, a lightning-fast response to any political event has become possible. Social media, web forums, and Live Journal allow users to conduct a continuous dialogue on any topic in any political tone or form. In such conditions, in order to get even slightly objective information, the reader needs to go through the wide diversity of opinions, positions, comments, and personal perspectives on events, which draws a certain picture of reality and inevitably makes changes in the view of the world of the recipient. As a result of the activity and ingenuity of the authors, the texts created present interest for linguists, as well, since figurative thinking, an abundance of metaphors, focus on the language game, and the emotional impact on the recipient represent the most significant features of modern political discourse [5, P. 207].
Among politics, such colorful lexical means acquire particular importance in the sphere of economics and medicine, adding eloquence, emotionality, and persuasiveness to writing. It should be noted that the impact on the recipient is not direct, but rather indirect.
The relevance of our research is to show how neologisms are introduced, as well as their influence and reflection on the real picture of the world of communications and how nationwide manipulation is developing on a global scale. Certainly, the range of manipulations is quite large. Using lexical means makes their influence limitless. However, today's situation is particularly pronounced, as it is associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Spreading disinformation, posing rhetorical
questions, information throw-ins - all of these methods may be used to form a negative perspective of the events, concealing more significant facts and highlighting only minor ones.
In today's world, communication happens by transforming the information field into a political one. According to M.V. Gevorgayn, it is research in political linguistics that makes it possible to identify new trends, methods, features, and changes that appear in the language in connection with various events, phenomena, and processes in the world of politics [3, P. 76]. Gorbachev's article, "Fighting for vocabulary", mentions the special role of vocabulary in the political discourse of mass media, since political communication is characterized by a high frequency of use of a large number of abstract keywords. As the research shows, these keywords are perceived quite instinctively and subjectively by the listeners [8].
According to E.V. Budayev and A.P. Chudinov, the "globalization" of political linguistics is taking place. Whereas previous scientific studies have generally been conducted in Europe or North America, in recent years, such publications have increasingly appeared in a wide variety of countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, specialists from the post-Soviet states began to learn more and more about the procedures, techniques, heuristics, and topics that were previously inaccessible to them for political reasons. Political linguistics, which had previously been characterized by a pre-eminent focus on totalitarian discourse and the discourse of Western democracies, is increasingly turning to the fundamentally new problems of the modern, multipolar world. The scientific interests of the new science are expanded by incorporating the analysis of the new aspects of the interaction between language, power, and society (the discourse of terrorism, the discourse of the "new world order", political correctness, social tolerance, social communication in traditional society, fundamentalist discourse, etc.) [1, P. 76].
In the modern world, the concept of the language of manipulation (political, economic, medical, etc.) receives quite strong scientific development and application in practice. The way of how information is selected is very significant. Word choice is a dominant factor - the ability to express ideas, thoughts, emotions. New words are created that denote recently developed phenomena, concepts, objects, and different styles of communication. They can change reality, as well as alter and control the communication process. Manipulative schemes affect respondents, attracting and expanding the interest of the audience. The key to the success of the speech manipulator lies in the ability to play with words - look for neologisms, phraseologisms, metaphors, antithesis, personifications, and epithets. Then, direct these stylistic means to improve the speech, making it meaningful, colorful, and powerful. If the word sounds rude or tactless, it is replaced by more neutral words - euphemisms. Neologisms seem to enhance political sharpness, for instance, in utterances about global chipping, economic risks, and disturbing reports of disaster areas. We tried to show examples of the impact certain groups of words have on political events, phenomena, and intentions.
Pandemic brinkmanship - this neologism involves pushing volatile engagements to the brink of active conflict, with the goal of achieving a positive outcome for yourself [9].
Brinkman - the person standing on the edge, on the verge of anything, has reached the limit. Brinkmanship - it's teetering on the brink of disaster.
For example. Russia is not alone in being convicted of pandemic brinkmanship; both Iran and China have hacked vaccine research, with the latter being ordered to close its consulate in Houston, Texas as a result.
For example: In the first week of negotiation, Republicans and Democrats are still far apart on another coronavirus relief package. Congress has played a game of brinkmanship with government shutdowns, but during a pandemic with millions of Americans out of work, it's a different situation [10].
For example: The political brinkmanship "introduces a big increase in uncertainty", says Nicholas Bloom, an economist at Stanford University's graduate business school [11].
Axis of evil - U.S. President George W. Bush used the phrase for the first time, addressing Congress on January 29, 2002. At first, the phrase was going to be "axis of hate" but it later became the controversial "axis of evil." This neologism became a hallmark of the Bush administrations foreign policy [12].
For example: "China Is Part of the 'New Axis of Evil,' Must Be Held Accountable for Pandemic", Senator Blackburn Says [13].
Black Identity Extremism (BIE) -violent extremism motivated by racial prejudice. This term has been in force since August 2017 through 2019 [14].
For example: The Federal Bureau of Investigation's director said the bureau has abandoned the term "black identity extremism" as part of a broad reconceptualization of how it thinks about racially motivated crime [15].
Credibility gap - crisis of confidence or lack of trust.
For example: Political leaders and health officials have often invoked the credibility gap on the Coronavirus Crisis to justify their decisions. "Democrats face 'credibility gap' over protesters' free pass on COVID rules" [16].
For example. "The result has been simmering public skepticism, particularly on the right, over the necessity of the lockdowns and other restrictions, or what Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, an associate professor at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine, called 'the coronavirus credibility gap" [17].
Putinversteher or Putin—Verstehe - a German political neologism which literally translates "Putin understander", i.e., "one who understands Putin".
For example: We were lucky enough to witness the birth of a patriotic brand of the new Russia-Putinversteher [18].
Paper terrorism is a neologism to refer to the use of false liens, frivolous lawsuits, bogus letters of credit, and other legal documents lacking sound factual basis.
For example: Some victims of paper terrorism have been forced to jail. Their aim was to overthrow the government through "paper terrorism" and violence [19].
Vaccine nationalism is a new term that denotes Russia's superiority in the development of a COVID-19 drug. The author of this term - New Statesman journal. The material, titled "pandemic balance of power" or pandemic brinkmandom, hides geopolitical differences.
For example: Vaccine nationalism is a dangerous policy.
That sort of "vaccine nationalism," or a "my country first" approach to allocation, will have profound and far-reaching consequences [20].
White guilt - feelings of guilt expressed by some white people due to racist treatment of ethnic minorities. In psychology it is an subset of "collective guilt" [21].
For example: Collective guilt encourages people to make problems fixed, but white guilt can decrease the mental well-being of people who experience it [22].
Rat-licker - a person who does not use medical means, or does not take any precautions to prevent illness during pandemic.
For example: I went to the shop to find a new dress, but had to go away. There were many Rat-lickers [23].
It should be noted that there are many discoveries among the neologisms associated with U.S. President Donald Trump. The consequences of the election have led to the creation of new words. Among them we may highlight the following:
Trumpism - a person who supports Mr. Trump as a candidate for president.
For example: Trump's victory was predictable, and was predicted, but not by looking at polls [24].
Trumpflation - the expected increase in inflation as a result of economic policies of Trump [25].
For example: The speculation around Trumpflation that occurred around the time of Trump's election was also reflected in the financial markets themselves [25].
Most of these words may be short-lived, but some remain in the language, merge, and become one with it. Writing does not suffer from this but only acquires a more modern meaning. The President of the United States of America Donald Trump is an entertaining person, and he always attracts attention with his speeches to the public and his statements or comments on Twitter. His speech is replete with lexical techniques, which makes it spectacular and original, giving undoubted success to his performance. It seems that Trump likes to create new words and expressions, getting great pleasure from it. Both the leader of our country and the leader of the United States repeatedly use quotations, creating the illusion of being close to the people. Exploring the speech of politicians, famous economists, and cultural figures, it can be noted that the main mechanism of manipulation is suggestion. This phenomenon is aimed at persuasion. An image is created, and a certain reaction enters into the mass consciousness through suggestion. It can be formed as either negative or positive. It all depends on how convincingly the information is speculated. In fact, scholars are often skeptical of the newly formed expressions, considering their use only temporary because many of them disappear from the communicative process after losing their novelty. However, they sometimes take root and change the picture of any field of activity. At the moment, there are many common spheres and trends for confluence between linguistics and law, economics, medicine, and other sciences. There is no denying the fact that many scholars consider this confluence exhausted because the language has not only a universal but also historical aspect.
In the opinion of A. A. Zaraiskiy, words cannot live without development, and the influence of the latest technical means will give the language an opportunity to reflect the essence of the new realities in which we have to live in. We hold a similar view with regard to neologisms, noting that this is an integral part of the vocabulary that is gradually becoming embedded. Neologisms are newly coined terms, words, or phrases that may be commonly used in everyday life but have yet to be formally accepted as constituting mainstream language. Neologisms represent the evolving nature of the English language. Neologisms can be completely new words, new meanings for existing words, or new semes in existing words [4, P. 15].
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is safe to say that leaders of English-speaking countries like to speak to the public and extensively enjoy oratory. Political rhetoric is well-developed in these countries. Politicians play with the laws and conduct bureaucratic regimes using instrumental power. However, they try to affect us by incorporating new words into political discourse, while utilizing their influential power. In this paper, we made an attempt to show how political neologisms are created, as well as the rhetorical devices applied to form a persuasive and manipulative political discourse. Since neologism is a new word or phrase, it takes a new cover, another meaning, and can be applied as a linguistic innovation. The area of investigation is broad. A variety of different lexical units were found during research, and among them are a number of the neologisms that are specifically observed and applied in political discourse. Therefore, it was important for us to choose the neologisms that are of political nature by definition. The study of the lexical means also helped us to reveal the stylistic techniques of public speaking, which remain relevant today. Stylistic methods in speeches of prominent politicians sometimes acquire manipulative aspects. Having a precise basis, they can influence the person, introduce certain economic and political illusory ideas, and define other norms and values. It is significant that the technology of manipulation by lexical means has been known for a long time. Neologisms are recognized to affect the consciousness of the recipients. Linguistic techniques are widely used to establish emotional climate, critical reflection, psychological pressure, and choice of associations in order to incite conflict situations. In general, we can say that the choice of lexical and linguistic methods can either limit the effect of manipulation in speech or contribute to its success. For instance, when the meaning of the piece of information is distorted, meaningless connotations are embedded, media text comprehension is negated, and ethical standards are challenged, it may lead to the reader's aggravation and negative perception. Political discourse is a powerful resource that is used by politicians for self-presentation and promotion, as well as forming favorable views of the surrounding reality.
Конфликт интересов Conflict of Interest
Не указан. None declared.
Список литературы / References
1. Budayev E.V. Formation and the evolution of foreign political linguistics [Electronic resource] / Budayev E.V., Chudinov A.P. // Contemporary political linguistics. Issue -20., -Yekaterinburg 2006- P.75-94. - URL: http://www.philology.ru/linguistics1/budaev-chudinov-06a.htm. (accessed: 21.08.2020)
2. Varshamova N.L. Language borrowings within the framework of intercultural communication / Varshamova N.L. // Language and the world of the language studied: collection of scientific articles. Saratov: social and economic institute. G.V Plekhanov's REU branch 2017.- P. 10-13
3. Gevorgyan M.V. Actualization of manipulation tactics in mass media political discourse / Gevorgyan M.V. // Political linguistics 4(38)'2011. - P. 76 - 78.
4. Zaraiskiy А.А. Man and his language in a new digital reality// Formation of the linguist paradigm in the digital environment [collective monograph] Under the general Ed. А.А. Zaraiskogo. - Saratov: Amirit, 2020.- P. 5-20.
5. Ignatkina A.L. Cognitive interpretation of intertextuality techniques in contemporary Russian political discourse / Ignatkina A.L. // Vestnik of Saratov State Law Academy 2014. Saratov: Publisher: Saratov State Law Academy. - P. 206-212.
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Список литературы на английском / References in English
1. Budayev E.V. Formation and the evolution of foreign political linguistics [Electronic resource] / Budayev E.V., Chudinov A.P. // Contemporary political linguistics. Issue -20., -Yekaterinburg 2006- P.75-94. - URL: http://www.philology.ru/linguistics1/budaev-chudinov-06a.htm. (accessed: 21.08.2020)
2. Varshamova N.L. Language borrowings within the framework of intercultural communication / Varshamova N.L. // Language and the world of the language studied: collection of scientific articles. Saratov: social and economic institute. G.V Plekhanov's REU branch 2017.- P. 10-13
3. Gevorgyan M.V. Actualization of manipulation tactics in mass media political discourse / Gevorgyan M.V. // Political linguistics 4(38)'2011. - P. 76 - 78.
4. Zaraiskiy А.А. Man and his language in a new digital reality// Formation of the linguist paradigm in the digital environment [collective monograph] Under the general Ed. А.А. Zaraiskogo. - Saratov: Amirit, 2020.- P. 5-20.
5. Ignatkina A.L. Cognitive interpretation of intertextuality techniques in contemporary Russian political discourse / Ignatkina A.L. // Vestnik of Saratov State Law Academy 2014. Saratov: Publisher: Saratov State Law Academy. - P. 206-212.
6. Rozina Gunta and Karapetjana Indra. The Use of Language in Political Rhetoric: Linguistic Manipulation] //Suleyman Demirel University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Journal of Social Sciences. - № 19. 2016. -P. 111-112
7. Semenova E.V. Neologisms as a reflection of the development and vitality of language // Russian Linguistic Bulletin. -№2(22). 2020. - P. 58-61.
8. Biblioteka Gumer [Electronic resource]. - URL: https://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/Culture/Article/_Gorbachev_Lex.php (accessed 25.08.2020)
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