Linguistic Mechanisms of Speech Influence in the English-Language Discourse of an Influencer
Introduction. The article, using the methods of corpus linguistics and discourse analysis, identifies linguistic means that implement emotional speech influence tactics in Englishlanguage communication practices of a video blogger. The relevance of the article is due to the interest of modern linguistics in the study of language personality in network communication. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the description of language means that serve to maintain mediated dialogue between the addresser and the addressee in the video blog discourse, which is the basis for suggestive communication and formation of emotional parasocial attachment of the audience to the personality of an influencer. Methodology and sources. The study was carried out in line with communicative analysis of computer-mediated discourse. The analysis of the empirical material, which included the texts of 16 English-language videos with a total volume of 27,131 words, was conducted using the methods of corpus linguistics and interpretative discourse analysis. The model of the speech interaction structure by A.-B. Stenström was used as a basic algorithm of discourse analysis. Results and discussion. Corpus analysis revealed a high frequency of personal deixis and direct addresses in the communicative practices of an influencer, which indicates a high degree of dialogicity of the discourse in focus. The most frequent cluster in the corpus is the discursive unit you guys, functioning as a means of phatic communication in standard etiquette formulas and as a diffuse-word that fills hesitation pauses. The frequency of direct addresses (friends, guys), polite formulas and imperative sentences creates an impression of real dialogue between a viewer and a video blogger. The communicative tactics of solidarization and intimization aimed at supporting the motivating function of discourse are implemented through personal pronouns and colloquial means of phatic communication. Discourse analysis of concordances conducted to identify the types of communicative acts that influence the course of transactions, as well as their specific intentional focus in a given context, revealed the prevalence of secondary and complementary acts of maintaining contact and positive self-presentation. Conclusion. It is shown that the main communicative strategies of speech influence in the influencer’s discourse include the strategies of positive self-presentation, establishing contact, solidarization, and the evaluation strategy. The analysis revealed that emotional speech influence in the video blog discourse is based on its phatic and self-presentation functions. The discursive practices of an influencer are characterized by marked communicative demonstrativeness and emotionality.
Authors: Inna V. Kononova, Daria A. Belozub
Direction: Linguistics
Keywords: discourse analysis, influencer, parasocial relationships
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