Abstract
Discourse is a constitutive element of politics as a social practice. This chapter analyzes a political propaganda video released during the 2010 presidential election in Brazil during the final week of the run-off between Dilma Rousseff and José Serra. We employ the appraisal system (Martin and White, 2005) to investigate the language used in the video voice-over aimed at persuading people not to vote for Rousseff. The study reveals the discursive construction of a political struggle in Brazil and provides a methodological model for the systematic analysis of public discourse and language structure. Language, supported by other available semiotic resources, is deployed to represent a possible victory by Dilma Rousseff which invokes fear from the audience through negative attitudinal meanings. That benefits her political opponent, José Serra, who emerges from the narrative as the viable choice for the run-off.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture |
| Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing Company |
| Pages | 109-124 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Volume | 79 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2018 |
Keywords
- Appraisal theory
- Attitude
- Brazil
- Critical discourse analysis
- Fear
- Political discourse
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gender Studies
- Social Psychology
- Communication
- Language and Linguistics
- Sociology and Political Science
- Linguistics and Language