Linguistic and pragmatic devices in political communication: delegitimization of the opponent

The Florence unit’s research focused mainly on analysing the communication modes and strategies, techniques of rhetoric and lexical choice employed to delegitimize political opponents. It also made a special study of the semantic origin and evolution of the term delegitimization (and etymological family) with a view to better defining the concept it conveys. No rigorous research into the phenomenon of “political delegitimization” can avoid analysing the linguistic facts associated with it. Language plays a prominent role in the process of delegitimizing one’s political opponent. Like other kinds of political discourse, delegitimization is largely based on communication strategies aimed at manipulating meanings or values and persuading people; it favours the conative (exhortatory) function of language. Hence, we analysed it like other types of rhetoric discourse, though using a specific cluster of communicative procedures and linguistic devices, as applied to speeches and texts by key figures in twentieth-century Italian history (Mussolini, De Gasperi, Togliatti) at highly significant moments (war in Ethiopia, 1948 elections).