Тактика эмоционального усиления аргументации в письменном научно-гуманитарном дискурсе

Abstract

The aim of the article is to reveal the specifics of the implementation of the tactic of emotional amplification of argumentation in the written discourse of the humanities. The research is carried out on the material of Russian-language articles on sociology, psychology, cultural studies, linguistics, journalism, published in peer-reviewed academic journals for 2001-2019. Methodologically, the work is related to convergent theory, which ensures the integration of descriptive and normative dimensions of argumentation using qualitative analytical methods: description, functional-semantic, contextual and propositional analysis. The tactic of emotional amplification of argumentation involves the choice of communicative speech actions that actualize the emotional dominant of message perception. According to the results obtained, in the written discourse of the humanities, this cognitive attitude is realized at three levels: structural, verbal, and metatextual. Structural amplification of argumentation is associated with conceptual amplification and provides for a special construction of reasoning using the techniques of manipulating with concepts: emphasizing key concepts; creating a certain emotional evaluating background of the discourse; contrasting concepts. At the verbal level, emotional amplification of argumentation is embodied in two subtactics: psychological accentuation and para-argumentation. The techniques of psychological accentuation include the following: use of expressions with the meaning of evidence, reliability of a fact (knowledge) that convey categorical confidence; use of quantifiers with meaning of “general” and intensive words; expansion of standard argumentative verbalizers by intensifying lexemes; activation of language forms of negation; contact use of modal predicates, as well as semantically close or equivalent verbs in different temporal modes; selection of pragmatically strong verbs with argumentative semantics; use of authorized constructions that include various means of verbal amplification. The methods of paraargumentation are speech actions using rhetorical means, primarily metaphors (especially conceptual ones), as well as irony/sarcasm. Metatextual amplification of argumentation is achieved with graphic accentuation, which are typographic means (font emphasis) and techniques of expressive graphics (as a rule, exclamation constructions with appropriate punctuation). The maximum amplification of argumentation is provided by the syncretic use of structural, verbal, and metatextual means. The author concludes that the effectiveness of the tactics of emotional amplification of argumentation in the written discourse of the humanities depends on how much the speech actions that implement this tactic are consistent with rational criteria for evaluating the quality of scholarly justification and comply with the institutional norms of scholarly communication.