PERSONAL ATTACKS AS AN ELEMENT OF IMPOLITE AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN POLITICAL SPEECH

Abstract

 Impoliteness refers to a characteristic form of language use in communication that
contradicts acceptable patterns or deviates from expected communication. Impoliteness is perceived mainly in the context of social rules of communication and valid conventions, and impoliteness arises from the violation of given constructed conventions. It is part of manipulative communication and is the opposite of cooperative communication. The problem of linguistic impoliteness can be addressed using several methods – quantitative analysis, conversational analysis and pragmalinguistic analysis. In the present study, we examine the manifestations of linguistic impoliteness in the context of political communication. In the text, we look at examples of the use of an ad hominem argument (argument against the person/personality) in Bulgarian political debates in Parliament. It is one of the most frequently used techniques in disputes between political opponents and, accordingly, one of the most frequently indicated when it comes to a manipulative suggestive effect on the
audience or on the opponent.