DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2021.7.36088

Abstract: This article examines the expressive potential of prosodic means based on the 2014 State of the Union Address to Congress delivered by the President of the United States Barack Obama “On the State of the Country”. Special attention is given to the discursive characteristics of the text and the peculiarities of communicative situation, including such prosodic parameters as pausation, tone and intensity, word accents, as well as capabilities of the syllabic consonants. The author employs auditive and instrumental methods for the analysis of speech fragments of the politician, which illustrates the effectiveness of modifications of suprasegmental speech characteristics for achieving the optimal rhetorical effect in the information-enriched text. The relevance of this research is defined by need for comprehensive analysis of the political discourse and techniques used to influence the audience. The scientific novelty lies in consideration of the expressive capabilities of prosodic means in the political texts with consideration of various extralinguistic factors, as well as within the specific type of political discourse – orientation genre as a speech of information-prescriptive nature. The acquired results demonstrate the expressive potential of suprasegmental means in oral speech, and can be implemented in teaching students-philologists the principles of analysis of political texts from the perspective of expressive syntax, prosody, cognitive syllabics, and rhetoric.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2021.6.35917

Abstract:  This article reviews the expressive potential of prosodic means in Hillary Clinton's speech at the 2016 United States presidential debates. Special attention is given to the discursive characteristics of the text, such prosodic parameters as pitch variation, pausing, pace and intensity, as well as use of word accent. The author employs the method of auditory analysis of politician’s speech, and dwells on its certain fragments, which illustrate the effectiveness of suprasegmental modifications of speech for achieving an optimal rhetorical effect. The relevance of this research is substantiated by the need for comprehensive assessment of political discourse as a variation of communication with high manipulative potential. The scientific novelty consists in viewing the expressive capabilities of prosodic means in political discourse in light of extralinguistic factors that characterize the communicative situation, as well as in analysis of their functionality within a specific type of political discourse – the agonal genre, which brings its adversarial nature to the fore. The acquired results demonstrate the expressive potential of modifications of the key prosodic parameters in oral speech, and can be implemented in teaching the principles of analysis of political discourse texts from the perspective of expressive syntax, prosody, stylistic, and rhetoric to students majoring in philology.