Functioning of Stylistic Devices in the Political Speeches of American Expresident Barack Obama

Abstract

A detailed study of linguistic features of political texts allows one to track the trends in linguistic changes and identify the linguistic means of modelling a communicative portrait of politicians in the light of dynamic challenges of the period in question. At the same time, it is essential to characterize their political discourse to investigate their political reality. Political speech acts as a form of public speaking, a communication process and a type of social action. One of the key figures is Barack Hussein Obama, an American politician and the 44th President of the United States. This linguistic research aims to describe the functioning of stylistic devices in his political speeches delivered in the period from June 1 to July 13, 2015, and, in particular, reveal the stylistic effect they create. The procedures and methods implemented during the research compile with the aim, objectives and the material analyzed. They include both general scientific methods and those related to linguistic research. The research shows that the great variety of stylistic devices used in the political texts in question mostly includes epithets (to create a portrait of a certain person); antitheses (to demonstrate contradictions); hyperboles (to express sincere feelings); metaphors (to create symbolic images, address the audience, cultivate an atmosphere of a communicative situation); anaphors (to enhance the characteristics of the image, emphasize and encourage the audience to analyze what is heard); simile (to emphasize a certain quality); repetition (to enable full-fledged image-creation and express the authority category). Thus, the stylistic devices identified during the linguistic analysis make it possible to convey the key ideas of the speech and serve as powerful means of implementing the tasks set by the politician. It is concluded that the genre of political speech serves as a powerful lever of linguistic influence on representatives of different social strata, because ideas masked in it by stylistic devices allow politicians to form a favorable image and manipulate public consciousness in a particular linguistic space.