Discursive personality of a politician in the genre of American political debates: Intertextual references as a means of actualising discrediting tactics

Abstract

The aim of the study is to identify the role of intertextual references as a means of implementing discrediting tactics in the discourse of an American politician – presidential candidate. The study is novel in that it is the first to consider intertextual references in media political discourse as an effective tool for the implementation of discrediting tactics based on a three-stage analysis of the discourse of debates within the framework of N. Fairclough’s model. In addition, the scientific novelty of the study consists in identifying the features of the speech behaviour of each of the political figures, including some gender-specific characteristics. In particular, it was found that gender differences between candidates can serve as a basis for the implementation of discrediting tactics. The results showed that the dominant types of intertextual references as a means of implementing discrediting tactics were reference, allusion and quotation. Speech aggression can be considered the leading communicative tone of the discursive personality of a politician participating in the debates. It was proved that the discursive personality of a politician influences the choice and nature of the implementation of communicative tactics.