VERBAL REPRESENTATION OF THE CONCEPT DEMOCRATIC VALUES IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE OF B. OBAMA

Abstract

Objective. The paper focuses on the concept Democratic values identified in speeches of ex-American president B. Obama. The concept serves as a mental foundation of American policy.
Materials and Methods. The research represented in this paper is based on the analysis of the speeches delivered by Barack Obama during 2009-2011. Cognitive analysis helped to reconstruct American politician’s ideas about his perception of the world, political issues and the system of values. Context-situational method was useful for context interpretation of the speeches of the politician. Content analysis helped to identify notions related to the concept Democratic values.
Results. Analyses of the selected speeches proved that the concept Democratic Values is an important part of American political culture. It is represented by lexemes. We described it in terms of lexico-semantic field that consists of the core and the periphery. The core covers the prototypical layers with most frequent units while less frequent units with more abstract features gravitate to the periphery of the concept. The notion of the concept Democratic values is regularly reproduced by American leader. The concept is quite stable and easily recognized.
Conclusions. The concept Democratic values is logically structured. The concept is a combination of cultural and political marking, responsible for storage and transfer of data. The concept Democratic values has nation-specific features, it is a reflection of American political culture. The concept is codified in the consciousness of Americans, that’s why lexemes of the concept are widely used by American politicians. As an integral part of American mentality, the concept Democratic values affects not only the perception of American people, but also foreign policy of the USA.