FUNCTIONS OF PRESENT-DAY POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND LINGUISTIC MEANS OF THEIR REALIZATION (A STUDY OF THE 2020 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DEBATES)

This paper examines the functions of present-day political discourse and the means of their implementation in the context of the 2020 US Presidential election campaign. The study focuses on the key functions of political discourse, such as communicative, cognitive, persuasive, emotive, and aesthetic. The paper approaches political discourse as a powerful tool of influencing mass consciousness, which is achieved through rhetorical techniques, emotionally rich vocabulary, and expressive syntactic constructions. A special role in political discourse belongs to metaphors and other means of imagery, which jointly affect the perception of the audience and shape their political standing. The paper also highlights the significance of grammatical means, particularly personal pronouns and tense forms, in creating effective communication strategies. Given that political discourse is an important element in shaping public opinion, while influencing the citizens’ emotions and behaviour, the mechanisms of its construing and functioning require a further in-depth linguistic analysis.