Interdiscursivity as a means of manipulative influence

Abstract

The article gives a general idea of manipulation and speech manipulation as a subject of interest to linguists. The possibilities of interdiscursivity in terms of creating a manipulative effect on the addressee are considered. Manipulation is regarded from the viewpoint of the process of linguistic communication and information transfer; therewith the term “communicative and cognitive maneuvering” is used. Interdiscursivity is understood as a category manifested in the interaction of different types of discourse. Based on the analysis of fragments of texts of English-language popular science literature, in which the process of conceptualization of scientific terms occurs with the participation of knowledge drawn from other types of discourse, the effect of the mechanism of cognitive manipulation is considered. The research is based on the provisions of the theory of conceptual integration, definitional analysis and inference. The analyzed examples reveal manipulative actions of the authors in order to create a persuasive effect, causing an emotional and intellectual response. It is established that as a result of the actualization of interdiscursivity, the conceptual structure of the described concepts is expanded and the features are rearranged, which creates some cognitive dissonance, allowing to get the expected response from the recipient. It is noted that the interaction of different types of discourse acts as a signal of both spontaneous, natural, and staged, i.e. intentionally created, interdiscursivity, the actualization of which implements two goals – to present scientific knowledge in a broader and more comprehensive way and to facilitate the recipient’s perception of the author’s vision and acceptance of his judgments.