PRE-ELECTION THREATS AS A SPECIAL PRAGMATIC TYPE OF STATEMENTS

Abstract

The aim of this article was to study linguistic manifestations of pre-election threat statements as well as to construct their explicit formula and evaluate their pragmatic effect on the voters. This study used the material of discursive practices with the meaning of threat found in the pre-election programmes of the presidential candidates in Russia in 2018. Based on the performative hypothesis, the authors were able to construct an explicit (basic) formula of threat statements and single out its types. The research showed that statements with the meaning of threat can contain a declaration of threat influence directed at either voters or the opposition. In this regard, the basic formula of pre-election threat statements can be represented by two functional-semantic models: explicit-exponential and prospective-consequent threat statements. The authors come to the conclusion that the basic forms of threat statements found in the programmes of the presidential candidates in Russia in 2018 are capable of producing an intensive pragmatic and emotional effect on the mass addressee, since they contain an explicit declaration of the threat influence. Only a small number of explicit statements with the meaning of threat in Russian preelection discourse point to the politicians’ avoiding frequent use of these forms of threats in order not to intimidate voters by possible consequences. In a situation of pre-election discourse, politicians prefer prospective-consequent statements with the meaning of threat, whose possible effect is addressed to the opposition politicians. The results of this study can be used to predict the pragmatic effect of politicians’ threat statements on voters.