Fetzer Anita (Editor). The Pragmatics of Political Discourse

John Benjamins, 2013. — 246 pages. — (Pragmatics & Beyond New Series). — ISBN: 978-90-272-7239-3.The volume promotes a pragmatic perspective to the analysis of political discourse as multilayered mediated discourse. The chapters cross the disciplinary and methodological boundaries of speech act theory, social positioning theory, and argumentation theory and rhetorics. They address the strategic use of address terms and irony, the form and function of questions, and the expression of certainty in the contexts of parliamentary discourse, interview, talkshow, phone-in programme and motion of support across different discourse domains. Different cultural contexts are represented, including Africa, the Middle East, different parts of Europe and the United States.The multilayered and multifaceted nature of political discourse
Political discourse from above: Parliamentary discourse
On the metapragmatics of British, German and Russian political questions and answers
The discursive practice of addressing in the Romanian Parliament
Political discourse mediated: Interviews
Argumentation in broadcast election campaign discourse:
Towards a rhetorical reconstruction
Strategic manoeuvring in a political interview:
The case of responding to an accusation of inconsistency
The communication of certainty and uncertainty in Italian political media discourses
Political irony: Constructing reciprocal positioning in the news interview
Political discourse from below: Phone-ins and letters
The effect of irony in radio talk-back programmes in Israel
‘Motions of support’ and the communicative act of thanking in political discourse