NEGATIVE IMAGE FORMATION IN BRAZILIAN POLITICAL DISCOURSE

The article considers socio-linguistic aspects of Brazilian political and media discourse and explores some linguistic tools shaping politicians‟ negative image. This paper focuses not only on the linguistic means used to shape a negative image of a modern Brazilian politician, but also provides the possibility to measure the results in terms of social response. Moreover, such means are viewed as instruments of influence affecting voting processes. The study aims to identify linguistic means of different levels, including macro-level, commonly used in Brazilian media discourse during the pre-election campaign to shape politicians‟ negative image. The study also provides general analysis of the topics raised by Brazilian media outlets at the time of the pre-election campaign. The study is conducted within the scope of lingua-pragmatic and socio-cultural research, further supplemented by discourse analysis of editorial articles. Data evaluation and analysis is backed by quantitative methods of research. Research findings are presented in the form of scheme and are supported by examples from different sources. Material for the research is obtained from editorials published in Brazilian national and regional/local quality mass media reflecting the views and interests of different social groups.