PERIPHRASIS IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE: COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS, LINGUISTIC MECHANISMS, AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS
Keywords:
periphrasis; political discourse; euphemism; framing; strategic ambiguity; political languageAbstract
This article examines periphrasis as an influential instrument of political discourse rather than a marginal stylistic ornament. In political texts, indirect naming is used to soften sensitive information, regulate public emotions, reduce the visibility of agency, and frame events in ways that appear legitimate, balanced, or necessary. The study is based on a qualitative discourse-analytic reading of forty English-language political texts published between 2015 and 2024, including speeches, press statements, and media-mediated political messages. The analysis shows that periphrastic expressions perform several recurrent functions: euphemization, strategic ambiguity, ideological framing, diplomatic politeness, and positive self-presentation. The article also demonstrates that these functions are supported by specific linguistic mechanisms such as nominalization, passive constructions, abstract evaluative vocabulary, and generalized institutional references. At the same time, periphrasis has a double effect. It may facilitate tact and communicative flexibility, but it may also weaken transparency and blur political accountability. The article concludes that the study of periphrasis is essential for understanding how political language organizes public perception and legitimizes particular interpretations of reality.References
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