SPECIFIC FEATURES OF POLITICAL TEXTS

Аннотация

Political texts are a distinct genre of discourse with unique linguistic, rhetorical, and pragmatic features aimed at influencing public opinion, shaping ideology, and legitimizing power. This article examines the specific characteristics that distinguish political texts from other types of communication, including the use of persuasive strategies, emotive language, and ideological framing. The study analyzes these elements through qualitative methods, drawing on discourse analysis of contemporary political speeches, debates, and manifestos. The findings highlight how political language is strategically constructed to mobilize support, obscure or highlight specificrealities, and maintaindominance within asociopolitical context. Keywords: political discourse, rhetorical strategies, ideological framing, persuasive language, political communication, discourse analysis, emotional appeals, power and language. Introduction. Language in politics is never neutral. Political texts play a critical role in shaping public consciousness, constructing collective identities, and influencing decision-making processes at individual and societal levels. These texts, ranging from formal speeches and legislative debates to party manifestos and campaign messages, are purposefully designed to achieve specific communicative goals. The primary function of political discourse is not only to inform but to persuade, justify, or delegitimize. Unlike literary or scientific texts, political communication operates within a framework of power relations, seeking to maintain, challenge, or transform existing sociopolitical structures. Understanding the specific features of political texts is essential for bothpolitical scientists and linguists, as it allows for deeper insight into how language isused as atool ofgovernance, resistance, and publicengagement. Political texts occupy a central role in the communication processes that shape governance, public opinion, and social organization. Unlike everyday language, political discourse is inherently strategic, aiming not merely to convey information but to influence, persuade, and legitimize specific ideological positions and power relations. These texts encompass a wide range of formats, including speeches, manifestos, policy documents, and debates, all crafted to serve political objectives such as mobilizing support, framing issues, and constructing collective identities. The language of politics is distinctive in its use of persuasive techniques, emotional appeals, and ideological framing, which together work to shape the perceptions and behaviors of audiences. Understanding the specific linguistic and rhetorical features of political texts is therefore crucial for scholars, practitioners, and citizens alike to critically engage with political communication and its impact on democratic processes. This article explores the defining characteristics of political texts through qualitative discourse analysis, seeking to reveal how language functions as atool ofpower and persuasion incontemporary political contexts. Methods.This study employs aqualitative discourse analysis approach to investigate the distinct characteristics of political texts. A purposive sampling method was used to select a range of political texts from English-language sources, including speeches by heads of state, party manifestos, and televised debates from 2020to 2024.These texts were examined for their lexical http://www.internationaljournal.co.in/index.php/jasass 128 Volume 15Issue 06, June 2025 Impact factor: 2019: 4.679 2020: 5.015 2021: 5.436, 2022: 5.242, 2023: 6.995, 2024 7.75 choices, rhetorical devices, syntactic structures, and use of ideological framing. Analytical categories were developed based on existing theories in political linguistics, such as Chilton’s model of political discourse, van Dijk’s ideological square, and Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis framework. Textual elements were coded and interpreted within their sociopolitical context. Results. Analysis of the data reveals several core features of political texts. First, political texts are inherently persuasive, relying heavily on rhetorical strategies such as repetition, parallelism, metaphors, and appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos. Second, political discourse frequently uses emotionally charged language to create urgency, fear, hope, or solidarity. For instance, words like“crisis,” “freedom,” “security,” and “enemy” are strategically chosen toalign audiences with the speaker’s viewpoint. Third, the use of vague or abstract terminology—such as “change,” “justice,” or “progress”—allows speakers to remain ideologically flexible and appeal to broader audiences without committing to specific policies. Fourth, political texts often exhibit polarized framing, creating dichotomies such as “us vs. them” or “truth vs. lies” to strengthen in-group identity and discredit opponents. Finally, there is a consistent use of legitimization techniques, inclu