The communication of certainty and uncertainty in Italian political media discourses

Ilaria Riccioni | University of Macerata, Italy

Ramona Bongelli | University of Macerata, Italy

Andrzej Zuczkowski | University of Macerata, Italy

In the present study we analysed the lexical and morphosyntactic markers that communicate Certainty or Uncertainty and their pragmatic functions, in a corpus of contemporary Italian political discourses, both speeches and dialogues broadcast on television. The exemplary analysis of two speeches from the corpus shows the differences between a communication oriented towards Certainty and another oriented towards Uncertainty and between their pragmatic implications. The exemplary analysis of two dialogues shows their pronounced conflictual nature, which manifests itself mostly when the politicians of opposite parties accuse each other of saying something false through the use of Certainty markers.

Published online: 29 January 2013
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.228.08ric

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