ARGUMENTATIVE STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SPANISH POLITICAL DISCOURSE OF THE 2019 PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Abstract

Purpose. The article deals with identifying effective language means and techniques which form the basis of polarization, solidarityand positive prospect describing tactics that the argumentative strategy is realized through in speeches, debates and interviews of suchSpain’s political leaders as Pedro Sánchez, Pablo Casado and Santiago Abascal. 

Methodology. The study is based on an integrated approach to the analysis of political discourse, combining communicativeand pragmatic, semantic and cognitive as well as contextual analyses which allow determining speaker’s communicative and pragmaticintentions, detect the axiological component of language units meaning and their possible interpretations by national conceptual spherehosts in the relevant linguistic and situational context.

Results. The study analyzes the means of the argumentative strategy creation in the campaign speeches of Spanish leadingpolitical parties’ leaders, in their interviews and debates. The predominance of tactics of positive prospects description, polarizationand solidarity were identified. The research characterizes the peculiarities of lexical, grammatical and stylistic units’ combining, takinginto account the nationally determined specificity of lexical units’ meaning, which verbalize the demanded concepts of the nationalconceptual sphere of Spain. The analysis of the 2019 pre-election campaign discourse has allowed identifying of such specific featuresof the argumentative strategy as focusing on the future, emphasizing their own achievements and opponents’ shortcomings, desireto reduce the distance between the speaker and the addressee. The focus on the future context is embodied in the tactic of positiveprospects description where grammatical and lexical units should indicate the clarity and certainty of politician’s position. The tacticof polarization, characterized by the use of antonymous lexical units, allows politicians to present favorably their own candidacyand negatively affect opponents’ image. The need to convince voters is transferred into in the tactic of solidarity consisting in the useof lexical units that indicate the convergence of views and belonging of the speaker and the addressee to the same community.

Conclusions. The analysis of peculiarities of argumentative strategy realization in the Spanish political discourse demonstratesthe effectiveness of such frequently used communicative tactics as positive prospects description, polarization and solidarity. They arebased on the selection of lexical, grammatical and stylistic units, taking into account the situational and pragmatic context as well asnational and axiological dominants of Spaniard’s world view.