Linguistic and pragmatic characteristics of self-presentational discourse (based on the material of the content of English-language corporate websites)

Abstract

The article explores the self-presentational discourse essence in the communicative and pragmatic aspects. The relevance of this study lies in self-presentation applicability and importance in the information age. The purpose of the study is to determine the linguistic and pragmatic features of self-presentational discourse. The research was carried out using methods of linguapragmatic, discursive, interpretive and contextual analysis. The research material is English-language text content of corporate website “Company Mission” and “Company History” subsections. Scientific novelty of the article lies in the analysis of self-presentational discourse through the prism of transdiscoursivity idea, proposed by Michel Foucault. Such approach is applicable thanks to the discovery of transdiscursive signs of self-presentation. These include adaptability, universality, significance for social interaction. Self-presentation process manifests itself in the form of self-presentation strategy. Its purpose, which is abstract and constant, is to create a positive image of a speaker. Only communicative and pragmatic conditions of a concrete discourse specify the purpose. The transdiscursive discourse-forming strategy and its purpose serve as the main differentiating criteria of self-presentational discourse. Its communicative space is heterogeneous due to consisting of all possible situations of self-presentation. Each fragment of the space is treated as a specific version of self-presentational discourse realization within one discourse. Such an example is PR discourse, which concretizes PR version of self-presentational communicative space. It acts like any other version and adopts all linguistic and pragmatic features of corresponding discourse. Backgrounder as a PR discourse and PR variant genre is analyzed through “Company History” and “Company Mission” corporate website subsections. The genre embodies several tactics of the strategy. This supports the conclusion that self-presentation discourse is a transdiscursive phenomenon.