No. 7/2015

ABSTRACT: Information has always been regarded as a highly desirable merchandise. But today’s dependence of information on the omnipresent marketing devices is unprecedented. Marketing is here understood not only in terms of activities and instruments used to maximize benefits, but also as a frame of reference providing rules for the redefinition of meanings and defining discursive practices of behaviour. The notion of benefit effictiveness is redefined not as an ability to achieve business goals but, in performative terms, as a skill that allows one to influence others and support one’s own viewpoint, as well as to captivate readers considered as customers. This striving to influence the recipient by persuasion and to win his/her support for the broadcaster’s argument is conditioned by the principle of seduction and making information attractive at all costs. This, however, puts in serious doubt the principle that defines media texts as objective information providers. KEYWORDS: public discourse, sender, receiver, message, marketing, persuasion.

ABSTRACT: The demagogic critique is always based on manipulative (sophistic and eristic) argumentation and the manipulation of impression, mood and emotion. Tendentious, one-dimensional and negative interpretations stands in for substantive and thorough analysis of one’s utterances or actions that considers both their positive and negative aspects. But the strategies of demagogic critique are diversified in terms of simplicity or complication, as well as the presumed intellectual horizon of the receiver. Demagogic critique may be primitive, conventional (ritualistic), occasional-cyclical, sophisticated, auction or settling. KEYWORDS: demagogy, critique, manipulation, accrediting, discrediting, scheme, strategy.

ABSTRACT: The article presents innovative, both in Poland and worldwide, methodological approach to ‘hate speech’ that incorporates Dan Sperber and Deidre Wilson’s relevance theory to create the definition of the description. The article shows the scope of ‘hate speech’ and distincts it from similar terms. The methodology and definitions suggested in Polish research works on the phenomenon of ‘hate speech’ are critically described. Finally, the definition of ‘hate speech’ that refers to relevance is made and is supposed to be the most beneficial for the recipient in terms of cognitive effort and gain: hate speech is defined by the fact that it is an ostensive action that, in order to be optimally processed, requires recalling the discriminative circumstances of the attacked group. With such a definition the other determinants of hate speech provide definitional characteristic in specific cases. KEYWORDS: hate speech, relevance theory.

ABSTRACT: This paper analyses different ways of presenting hate speech in Polish media. The research on “Gazeta Polska Codziennie” and “Gazeta Wyborcza” archives has shown that both journals perceive this notion very differently. “GW” journalists defend the victims of the aggressive language and present hate speech as a shameful and dangerous aspect of public debate in Poland. On the other hand, the texts published in “GPC” tend to suggest that this phenomenon has been artificially created by liberals and, if it exists at all, its victims are mostly the right-wing supporters. This article is intended to draw attention to the manipulative use of the term of hate speech. Moreover, in order to improve the quality of the public debate, it proposes to extend the linguistic axiology research into hateful words. KEYWORDS: hate speech, Polish journals.

ABSTRACT: The text is dedicated to the analysis of unethical language strategies used in the Smoleńsk crash discourse. The paper describes: a lie, personal attack, labelling, unfair hint, arbitrary use of a word, hidden petitio principii, imputation, as well as manipulative forms of comparison and metaphor. The analysis proves that the Smoleńsk discourse does not fit into the social dialogue. The Smoleńsk crash has become a pretext for a war on ideology in which (our) values clash with (their) anti-values. The belief that a strong, rapid reaction will save the speaker’s world order very often leads to violating the rules of word ethics. KEYWORDS: word ethics, hint, imputation, labelling, personal attack, manipulation, petitio principii, eristics, Smoleńsk crash.

ABSTRACT: The text is dedicated to communication and discourse strategies used by both sides of the conflict that arose around the Golgota Picnic performance. The analysis includes the auto-presentation techniques of the conflict participants and the depreciation of one’s opponents, as well as argumentation strategies used by both sides of the conflict and the overall definitions of the situations that are created and imposed by them. Those strategies are mostly based on division, exclusion and conflict. The research is mostly based on press articles published in socio-political weekly magazines, journals and Internet portals associated with them, as well as the readers’ posted comments on the articles concerning the performance. KEYWORDS: Golgota Picnic, communication strategy, exclusion, depreciation, dehumanization, enemy, dogmatism, values, labelling.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this article is to present certain opinions that shape moral, legal, political, deontological and civilizational (cultural) aspects of understanding the conscience clause. A conflict on the freedom of conscience documented in major Polish socio-political weekly magazines and journals has revealed that it is burdened with the outlook associated with one’s cognitive perspective that includes their scientific, non-scientific, metaphysical and political beliefs. It proves that the conscience clause is not an easy issue, impossible to be clearly explained and sorted out. The ideologization of the conscience clause in the public discourse has given importance to the meaning of conscience itself. It has shown that it is a conflict about morality and its limits. KEYWORDS: axiology, aspects of meaning, discourse, ethos, social ethics, ideology, ideologization, social and moral order, social morality, values.

ABSTRACT: This article is about unethical metaphors concerning the church that appear in Polish opinion-making press. The research is based on all 2013 issues of ‘Polityka’ and ‘WSieci’ magazines. The metaphors that are used in the texts include: CHURCH IS A CORPORATION, MONARCHY, POLITICAL PARTY, POLAND (NATION), THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IS A TV SHOW, A PRIEST IS WEED AND AN INVADER. The analysis of the material shows that the articles of both magazines use offending metaphors when talking about the church, which is a violation of word ethics and an example of manipulation. What is more, “WSieci” uses free indirect speech to ridicule the opponent. The analysis also suggests that there are two different images of the church in Polish press. One is the image of the political party that strives for power. The other image equals the church with the nation and believes that the attacks on it are the attacks on tradition and family. KEYWORDS: metaphor, word ethics, the church, press.

ABSTRACT: The aim of the article is to review selected quoting strategies and ethical problems that may arise while using quoted speech in press articles. According to the author of the article, quoted speech in a discourse reflects the domination and subordination of social actors. Basing on the examples from press articles, the author proves that due to the function of quoted speech, which shows social inequality and domination, its use necessitates certain ‘ethical awareness’, required for all types of quoted speech described in this article. Without this awareness, quoting allows to change the meaning of the text by its recontextualization, by an arbitrary selection of quoted elements that would fit the given situation and the character’s idiolect and, finally, due to problems associated with mimetism of quoted speech. KEYWORDS: quoted speech, ethics, recontextualization, free indirect speech, free direct speech, narrative directions, verba dicendi.

ABSTRACT: The article is dedicated to the issue of stereotypization in lexicography works, which means recording and preserving in dictionaries such lexical and textual items that strengthen the general stereotype. The basis for the research on the topic is the analysis of two Polish dictionaries and the stereotypical representation of a mother presented in them. The aim of this analysis is to find out the answers to certain questions: in what form are the stereotypes preserved and recorded in the dictionaries?, what is the role of stereotypes in the dictionaries?, how can those stereotypes influence the readers of those dictionaries?, what is the impact of the stereotypes on the quality and function of the dictionaries? KEYWORDS: dictionary as a text, stereotypes in dictionaries, lexicographical stereotypization of a mother.

ABSTRACT: The aim of the article is to describe language assessment strategies in two letters: the Polish Women’s Congress to His Holiness Pope Francis and the Polish Bishops’ pastoral letter on the Holy Family Sunday of 29 December 2013, as well as in selected articles associated with both texts. The article pinpoints specific language strategies used to value and assess, mainly lexical stylistic devices that include expressivisms, both implicit, such as stupidity, helplessness and ideology, and explicit, such as progress, and metaphors; however, syntactic stylistic devices are used as well, for example rhetorical questions, exclamations or adjective clusters. KEYWORDS: linguistic assessment strategies, lexical devices, syntactical devices, metaphor, a letter of Women’s Congress to His Holiness Pope Francis, Polish Bishops’ pastoral letter.

ABSTRACT: This article is an attempt to find the answer to the question: what “hateful categories” were used to describe feminism and in what way are these labels used to describe genderism? The labelling is analyzed here in terms of Wittgenstein’s concept of a language game. Such labels as Bolshevism, Communism, atheism, totalitarianism, Nazism, Marxism, Stalinism have been transferred from the field of feminism to the field of gender. When the field of a game has changed, the way of conceptualization and the functions of language labels have changed as well. After being transferred to the field of gender, they have gained illocutionary force of a threat. They have become an effective tool to create antagonisms. Both in the first and in the second field, these labels have become a tool of symbolic exclusion and stigmatization. In the language label game there is no victory. The players lose the chance to communicate and understand each other. KEYWORDS: language game, labelling, persuasion, manipulation.

ABSTRACT: This article – when using the Wittgenstein’s concept of a language game – is about the way players, who have been “treated with labels”, try to unstick, get rid of them. Labels stuck to gender can be removed by such methods as: neutralization of hateful connotations related to the labels ideology and Marxism, sticking other labels on the existing ones – either those from the rival’s repertoire (Stalinism, totalitarianism, communism) or those already introduced to the game (liberalism, Middle Ages, Counter-Reformation, anti-Semitism), discarding the “ideological” label, making a mockery or a parody of the labels Polpotism, Lysenkoism, fascism, Nazism, Bolshevism. In the language game, in which labels become a tool of fight, both sides lose the chance to communicate and understand each other once again. KEYWORDS: language game, labelling.

ABSTRACT: The subject of the analysis in this paper is mansplaining – a situation when a man dominates over a women, most often in a public conversation. This communication strategy, present in various cultures, imposes subordination on the female interlocutor, very often reducing her role to a mere recipient of a message. On the other hand, a man grants himself the role of an expert, regardless of his knowledge on the discussed topic. The communicative strategy that explains, patronises and instructs a woman on what to do and what not to do stems from this behaviour. The competences of the female interlocutor are irrelevant and are very often depreciated in the course of discussion. This article aims at presenting the main aspects of this issue basing on the texts by female authors from various cultures, which proves the prevalence of this issue. KEYWORDS: mansplaining, communication strategy, sociolinguistics.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this article is to present the game with word ethics that is played between the senders, who are the creators of adverts, and receivers, who are the consumers, as well as to show that sending and receiving an advert is indeed a type of interaction that is distinguished by certain specific features: a play on emotions, truth and lie, stereotypes, values. The sender maintains the illusion that advertising is communication and does not address the receiver as a group. The receivers (consumers) interact with the sender through their actions (showing interest, making decisions, and, finally, buying the product). KEYWORDS: word ethics, advertising, sender, receiver, consumer, stereotypes, values, language.

ABSTRACT: The text is dedicated to the issue of contemporary language in mass media, especially in licence TV shows. One of such shows is Top Model and it is an example of adjusting the language of the show in order to achieve the aims set by its producer. The language of Top Model 4 was analysed in terms of pragmalinguistics: the aims of the broadcaster and show participants were determined, language schematics were found out both in narratives and dialogues, additional information stemming from the situational context was added and the aims of the show were juxtaposed with the final outcome. The analysis shows that the narrative of the show constructs a Top Model myth and tries to convince the receiver of the uniqueness and importance of the show. Spontaneous utterances reveal the difference between this image and reality. Language norms are not observed in casual conversations and dialogues, including etiquette (by using disrespectful speech), ethics (by depreciation and instrumentalization of the other). The explanation of this phenomenon lies in the analysis of non-linguistic contexts, for example postmodernism and the influence of the Western culture. As a result, it can be concluded that such shows not only accept the foreign patterns (licence), but also impose certain behaviour patterns, values and beliefs (as seen in the title of this article). KEYWORDS: ethics, etiquette, media language, media narrative, manipulation, verbal interaction.

ABSTRACT: The analyses of this paper are a part of research within word ethics in the contemporary public discourse. The aspect analysed in this paper is communication in marketing, the professional language (professiolect) of marketers specifically. So far, the issue of (un)ethical language of marketing has been linguistically analysed mostly in adverts; however, the professional language of marketers has only been vaguely presented. The main points of this article state: 1) the professional speech of marketers is internally diversified which influences the ethical dimension of this language; 2) in commercial language situations the language of marketers devaluates; 3) the instrumentalization of a customer is very visible and is often expressed directly; 4) the ethical paradox of the marketing language is that a person is frequently dehumanized and a product is personified. KEYWORDS: word ethics, marketing, professional language, marketer.

ABSTRACT: Contemporary relations between humans and animals are characteristic of their contradictory nature. On one hand, rapid development of science brings knowledge that gradually makes the anthropocentric vision of the world invalid, blurs the line that divides humans from other animals and highlights the value of animals’ lives. On the other hand, we witness animals being exploited and treated instrumentally on an unprecedented scale. To overcome this cognitive dissonance people use various language strategies that allow them to justify, explain or hide violence against animals, or at least lessen their sense of guilt. KEYWORDS: anthropocentrism, lexis, violence, animals.