PSYCHOLINGUISTIC MARKERS OF CONCEPTUAL STYLES: GENDER ASPECT (BASED ON AMERICAN POLITICAL DISCOURSE)

Abstract

In the article the notion of the conceptual style has been analysed; two main conceptual styles – the analytical and the relational ones have been described. The conceptual styles of Joseph Biden, John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have been analysed and defined. It has been proved that the conceptual styles of Joseph Biden and Michelle Obama are relational-analytical, the conceptual styles of John McCain and Hillary Clinton are analytical-relational. It has been stated that conceptual styles are differentiated due to a set of certain parameters: linguistic, socio-linguistic, psycholinguistic, etc., which may be called markers of conceptual styles. Among psycholinguistic ones linguistic markers of modality, namely visual, audio and tactile predicates, are singled out. It has been proved that the frequency of using those markers serves as the marker of conceptual styles. Gender peculiarities of using visual, audio and tactile predicates have been described and explained. It has been justified that verbal means of tactics of suggestion function as conceptual styles markers. The tactics of information deletion and information generalization have been analysed. Gender peculiarities of using nominalization, abstract nouns / pronouns, passive verbs, comparative / superlative constructions as means of information deletion tactic have been singled out, described and explained. Gender peculiarities of using universal quantifiers, intensifiers, modal operators of possibility / necessity as the means of information generalization tactic have been defined and grounded.