Lesia K. Malimon
PhD in Philology, Associate Professor
at the Department of English Practice
Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University,
Lutsk, Ukraine
e-mail: malimon@vnu.edu.ua
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6740-0701
Olha I. Horokhova
1st-year Master's student
Faculty of Foreign Philology
Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University,
Lutsk, Ukraine
e-mail: gorohovao2525@gmail.com
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3145-3351
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24195/2616-5317-2026-42.15
SUMMARY
Purpose. The study aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of linguostylistic tools used in official speeches of the US presidents, particularly in their inaugural addresses. The research focuses on identifying and systematizing the most common linguistic and stylistic features of political discourse and determining their role in implementing communicative strategies. This approach allows evaluating the influence of speeches on public consciousness and the formation of political behavior among audiences. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of transformations that stylistic units undergo when translated for a Ukrainian-speaking audience, and to identifying the most adequate ways to preserve their pragmatic potential in intercultural communication. Methodology. The study is based on discursive, contextual, and conceptual analyses, modeling of cognitive structures, and comparative analysis of linguistic units. An interdisciplinary approach combining text linguistics, pragmalinguistics, and political psychology is applied. Special attention is paid to stylistic devices (metaphor, epithet, antithesis, anaphora, alliteration) in speeches by F. Roosevelt, B. Obama, D. Trump, and J. Biden. Scientific novelty. The novelty lies in the comparative analysis of stylistic devices used by presidents from different historical periods and the identification of shared topoi and transformations reflecting the evolution of US political rhetoric. The study highlights how traditional American values – patriotism, democracy, and religiosity – are verbalized through individual speech strategies of modern leaders. The frequency and function of stylistic means in creating emotional and persuasive effects are also analyzed. Conclusions. US presidential rhetoric represents a complex linguistic system where stylistic devices serve not only decorative but also manipulative and integrative functions. Despite individual stylistic differences, continuity exists in the use of religious topoi and lexemes of unity. The most frequently used devices are metaphor (23.8%), alliteration (21.2%), and epithet (20.1%), which enhance emotional coloring and persuasiveness. The results are useful for translators, political scientists, and linguists studying political discourse and leaders’ communicative strategies.
Key words: political discourse, inaugural speech, linguostylistic devices, metaphor, political communication, manipulation.
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