Linguistic features of a speech portrait of the author of a German intellectual site (based on articles by Uwe Breitenborn)

Abstract

Aim. To analyse the verbal-semantic aspect of the linguistic personality of the German writer and publicist Uwe Breitenborn as a representative of a professional group of authors of an intellectual analytical website.

Methodology. The main research method is the modeling of a speech portrait. Functional-stylistic analysis identified specific features that determine the linguistic and speech originality of U. Breitenborn’s individual style and form the basis of the verbal-semantic component of his linguistic personality. Using elements of pragmatic analysis, the potential impact of the identified linguistic means on the target audience is described. To clarify the usual and actual meanings of linguistic units, methods of structural-semantic analysis and the method of contextual analysis were used. The frequency of linguistic elements in the text was determined by the quantification method.

Results. The most common markers of the virtual linguistic personality of the author of an intellectual site were identified, which stand out both for their qualitative specificity and frequency of use: syntactic-stylistic structures, lexical units, tropes. Conclusions were drawn about the nature of the pragmatic impact of the identified means on the target audience.

Research implications. The analysis of the individual linguistic and speech characteristics of the linguistic personality of the German writer Uwe Breitenborn contributes to the development of linguistic personology and opens up new prospects of modeling a generalized speech portrait of the author of critical and analytical articles posted on websites with socially relevant topics.