The speech act of appeal as a component of English-language political discourse (based on Ursula von der Leyen’s special address, Davos, 2023)

The aim of the research is to reveal the features of the functioning of direct, indirect and hidden appeals in English-language political discourse on the basis of the statements of the speech act theory. The scientific novelty of the study consists in disclosing the essential characteristics of different types of appeals in a socially significative political speech in English. The differentiation of direct, indirect and hidden appeals is revealed when being investigated in juridical and linguistic aspects. An appeal, inducing the addressee to perform a socially political action, is treated as part of social-political communication. This property turns appeals into an important tool that is often used in speeches by Western political leaders in order to influence the opinion and actions of the addressee. The results showed that indirect and hidden appeals are used in the studied political text, in which the illocutionary force of motivation is transmitted by formal means expressing other functional semantics. The use of indirect and hidden appeals is a feature of modern English-language political discourse, which is especially evident in the speeches of politicians calling for action against Russia.