Modality and Irony in Political Discourse

Abstract

The central figures in political communication are the participants and the strategies of persuasion and manipulation used as tools that influence perceptions, and behaviours. The aim of political discourse is gaining and holding power, the main instrument to achieve this aim is language. Thus, the language applied in political discourse uses a broad range of linguistic devices at the phonological, syntactic, lexical, semantic, pragmatic, and textual levels. One of the expressive means is irony, whose functions vary from attack and mockery to self-defense and entertainment and rely on communicative context, background, and the type of relations between the interlocutors.

Modality as the expression of the attitude of the speaker, or the expression of subjectivity and the speaker’s opinions and emotions, has much more functions, especially in political discourse. Besides rendering a message, the politician has to defend his positive face or the image of his party while undermining the opponent’s, sometimes using subtle weapons as irony.

This study examines the ideological and evaluative nature of irony and modality in political discourse. It aims at highlighting the linguistic constructions involved in ironic utterances and to reveal ideologies underpinning such structures. The key research questions focus on the role that modalization and ironic utterances play and how they contribute to the preservation of the speaker's positive image and the negative portrayal of the other.