IRRELEVANCE IN EU, UNITED KINGDOM AND SERBIAN PARLIAMENTARY DISCOURSE

Abstract

The focus of this research paper is the analysis of argumentative moves in parliamentary discourse that could be characterised as irrelevance criticisms. The term criticism is preferred to the more rigorous term fallacy as careful scrutiny is always advised before an argument is disqualified as missing the point. For the purpose of this research, an irrelevance criticism typology was devised to correspond to parliamentary discourse, an epistemic genre supposed to give knowledge and solutions to the debated political and legislative issues. The empirical part of the study is based on a cross-cultural corpus of almost 200 instances of irrelevance criticisms identified in six European Union, United Kingdom and Serbian parliamentary debates surrounding the questions addressed in the post-Brexit decade. The research corpus analysis involves the identification of core irrelevance types, their frequencies and implications within MP and MEP contributions in the parliamentary debates observed.