UDC

811.134.2:81’373

DOI

10.37482/2687-1505-V350

Authors

Irina V. Smirnova

Cand. Sci. (Philol.), Assoc. Prof. at the Spanish Language Department, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (address: prosp. Vernadskogo 76, Moscow, 119454, Russia).

e-mail: irina-smirnova1402@yandex.ru*, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1288-4638


Elena S. Korzhukova

Cand. Sci. (Philol.), Assoc. Prof. at the Spanish Language Department, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (address: prosp. Vernadskogo 76, Moscow, 119454, Russia).

e-mail: baleares@yandex.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0402-5718

Abstract

The article examines the persuasive impact of ethnonyms and ethnic categories on the voters in Spanish electoral discourse. In the modern world, the mechanisms of political communication are generating a growing interest. It is explained by the influence of political processes on all spheres of society, the fate of peoples and entire states, and the interests of every citizen. Therefore, political problems remain relevant at all times. The important role of electoral discourse, which has a pronounced persuasive effect on the voters, should be highlighted. When struggling for power, leaders and representatives of Spanish political parties, naturally, strive to establish trust, exert a certain emotional impact on potential voters and induce them to make the “correct” electoral decision, i.e. to vote for their party. It should be noted that persuasiveness has not only an argumentative, but also a manipulative component, forcing an addressee to act in the interests of the sender of the message. One of the persuasive speech mechanisms of Spanish electoral discourse is the use of ethnonyms in the election programmes of political parties. Ethnonyms contain valuable historical, ethnographic, cultural and linguistic information and, accordingly, cover the religious, cultural and historical spheres, as well as play an important role in intercultural communication. Ethnic identity includes the desire of peoples to preserve their identity, the uniqueness of their culture, language and worldview. Ethnonyms allow native speakers to identify their own traits and stereotypes. The essence of cultural, spiritual and political life is revealed through language. Thus, the study of ethnonyms and ethnic categories, as well as their functions in political discourse, is an urgent task of modern linguistics.

Keywords

ethnonym, political communication, persuasiveness, Spanish electoral discourse, Spanish voter, Spanish people, ethnic identity

References

1. Luchinina E.N. Lingvokul’turologicheskiy analiz etnonimov v ofitsial’nom diskurse [Linguocultural Analysis of Ethnonyms in Official Discourse: Diss.]. Tver, 2005. 143 p.
2. Yapparova V.N. O nekotorykh sposobakh reprezentatsii adresata predvybornogo diskursa [Ways of Representing the Addressee of Pre-Election Discourse]. Filologiya i kul’tura, 2014, no. 4, pp. 235–239.
3. Teikin M.S. Onomasticheskiy status etnonimov i vopros ikh peredachi s propisnoy bukvy [The Propriality of Ethnonyms and the Problem of Their Capitalisation]. Teoreticheskaya i prikladnaya lingvistika, 2023, iss. 9, no. 1, pp. 126–142. https://doi.org/10.22250/24107190_2023_9_1_126
4. Golubeva V.K. O funktsional’nom sootnoshenii ad”ektivnykh i substantivnykh sredstv pri vyrazhenii semantiki prinadlezhnosti [On the Functional Ratio of Adjectival and Nominal Means When Expressing the Semantics of Belonging]. Russkiy yazyk: sistema i funktsionirovanie. K 100-letiyu Belorusskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [The Russian Language: System and Functioning. To the Centenary of the Belarusian State University]. Minsk, 2021, pp. 130–137.
5. Shakhovskiy V.I. Emotsional’naya/emotivnaya kompetentsiya v mezhkul’turnoy kommunikatsii (est’ li neemotsional’nye kontsepty?) [Emotional/Emotive Competence in Intercultural Communication (Are There NonEmotional Concepts?)]. Leontovich O.A. (ed.). Kommunikativnye issledovaniya 2003: Sovremennaya antologiya [Communicative Research 2003: A Modern Anthology]. Volgograd, 2003, pp. 55–64.
6. Teykin M.S. Status etnonima v onomastike [The Status of Ethnonyms in Onomastics]. Gumanitarnye nauki v Yakutii: Issledovaniya molodykh uchenykh [The Humanities in Yakutia: Young Scholars’ Research]. Yakutsk, 2020. Iss. 4, pp. 15–19.
7. Escandell Vidal M.V. Introducción a la pragmática. Barcelona, 2008. 250 p.
8. Lotman Yu.M. Vnutri myslyashchikh mirov. Chelovek – tekst – semiosfera – istoriya [Within the Thinking Worlds. Human – Text – Semiosphere – History]. Moscow, 1996. 464 p.
9. Bromley Yu.V. Ocherki teorii etnosa [Essays on the Theory of Ethnicity]. Moscow, 1983. 412 p.
10. Astakhova E.V. Ispaniya kak metafora [Spain as a Metaphor]. Moscow, 2017. 275 p.
11. Fernández Lagunilla M. La lengua en la comunicación política. Madrid, 1999. 192 p.
12. Gutiérrez Ordóñez S. Pragmática y argumentación. Cáceres, 1996, 119 p.