A set of tactics of the British pre-election discourse from the perspective of a self-presentation strategy

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to identify the features of the self-presentation strategy phenomenon and its tactics actualised with the help of English language means and used by modern British politicians, such as Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, during the election campaign. The scientific novelty of the study is accounted for by the need to analyse the language means used by modern British politicians in order to present themselves effectively during the pre-election debates in Cheltenham (August 2022). In the theoretical part of the study, such concepts as “pre-election discourse” and “self-presentation strategy” are considered. In the empirical one, the analysis of fragments of the pre-election speeches is carried out. As a result, it has been proved that politicians can use the following tactics in public speeches to the electorate: compromising the opponent, avoiding an answer, self-praise, consolidation with the audience. It has been established that Liz Truss uses the tactics of consolidation with the electorate and compromising the opponent. Rishi Sunak employs the tactics of consolidation with the electorate, avoiding an answer and self-praise. These tactics are represented with the help of such linguistic means as stylistically charged vocabulary, the first-person singular pronoun, anaphora and metaphor.