Semantically Empty Words in Rhetorical Codes to Ethos

Abstract

The relevance of the research is determined by the increased interest in recent decades in assessing the rhetorical potential of the content of text and by the need to understand the subtext in the speech of statesmen. The study aims to develop general principles for deciphering encoded meanings in political texts and to understand the role of semantically empty words acting as code signs. Rhetorical codes are embedded in three main rhetorical modes: ethos, logos, and pathos. Using the continuous sampling method, the author of the article extracted text elements demonstrating rhetorical codes to ethos from transcripts of Russian politicians’ speeches. Rhetorical codes to ethos should be considered from the perspective of the actor's authority and the propagandized moral categories reflected in a specific discursive space. Contextual analysis, the methods of observation, interpretation, and generalization led the author to the hypothesis that semantically empty words may have different vectors establishing mechanisms for encoding meanings. Desemanticized lexemes are used by actors for manipulative purposes as there is a possibility of varying meanings. Modeling rhetorical codes to ethos is effectively used by speakers to create a positive image. The limits are only dictated by political ethics. The meaning of a word may vary depending on the occasional content of the text and the speaker's level of ethos. Decryption opens up the idea of a pejorative assessment of the event, indicates a desire to reduce the opponent's status, and highlights the ambiguity of the proposal. The implemented codes of euphemistic nomination and narrative expansion make it possible to comprehend the real assessment of what is happening in the state. Rhetorical codes to ethos are aimed at changing the status of a particular person.