Legitimisation and Proximisation Values in the Discourse of Historic Change

• Autorzy: Anna Wieczorek
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

This methodological-critical paper belongs to the field of pragmaticcognitive discourse analysis. It develops Cap's STA model of legitimisation (2005, 2006, 2008) and investigates various mechanisms legitimising the speaker's actions (or actions for which he bears responsibility) in political discourse of historic change. Proximisation as the salient feature of the model adds significantly to effectiveness of the speaker's continual attempt to convince the addressee of the rightness of political steps taken. It is a powerful and coercive tool "alerting the addressee [to] the proximity or imminence of phenomena which can be a ‘threat’ to the addressee" located in the deictic centre of a given event (Cap 2006:4) or a chain of events. The STA model accounts for the application of a three-dimensional pattern of the phenomenon in question, i.e. spatial, temporal, and axiological proximisation. However, the division does not exhaust the notion's potential, since properties of the dimensions mentioned enable us to classify them according to an extended taxonomic system in which they possess positive, negative, and neutral values (cf. Wieczorek 2008). Thus, the aim of this paper is to (a) analyse the interplay between a number of legitimisation strategies, (b) present the positive/negative/neutral classification of proximisation, and (c) comment on the nature of the interaction between and potency of the three dimensions and values. These can coexist within the body of one text, as well as within the body of one paragraph and their complementary character strengthens the overall goal of legitimisation providing various stimuli for the addressee to accept the speaker's stance, his decisions and actions, to comply with them, and to undertake actions intended by the speaker.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Legitimisation; proximisation; STA model; discourse analysis; discourse of historic change

• Wydawca: De Gruyter Mouton
• Czasopismo: Lodz Papers in Pragmatics
• Rocznik: 2008
• Tom: 4
• Numer: 2
• Strony: 263-275

Daty

wydano

2008-01-01

online

2008-06-11

Twórcy

autor

Anna Wieczorek

• University of Łódź

Bibliografia

• Beaugrande, Robert de. Linguistic Theory: The Discourse of Fundamental Works. London: Longman, 1991.
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• Cap, Piotr. "Language and legitimization: Developments in the proximization model of political discourse analysis." Lodz Papers in Pragmatics 1 (2005): 7-36.[WoS]
• Cap, Piotr. Legitimisation in Political Discourse: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective on the Modern US War Rhetoric. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2006.
• Cap, Piotr. "Towards the proximization model of the analysis of legitimization in political discourse." Journal of Pragmatics 40.1 (2008): 17-41, doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2007.10.002.[Crossref][WoS]
• Chilton, Paul. Analysing Political Discourse. Theory and Practice. London: Routledge, 2004.
• Chilton, Paul. and Christina Schäffner. "Discourse and politics." In Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction Vol. 2: Discourse as Social Interaction, edited by Teun van Dijk, 206-230. London: Sage, 1997.
• Leech, Geoffrey. Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman, 1983.
• Wieczorek, Anna Ewa. "Proximisation, common ground, and assertion-based patterns for linguistic legitimisation." Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines Journal 2.1 (2008): 31-48.

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.2478/v10016-008-0005-3