Argumentation of complimentary utterances in modern English and Ukrainian manipulative discourses

The article investigates the phenomenon of argumentative-manipulative influence on human consciousness as a way of verifying a message, which until recently was studied mainly in the field of psychology and political science. The research interest in the phenomenon of manipulation is predetermined by the fact that manipulative influence on a person can be carried out in various spheres of their activity. The study of manipulation with argumentative constructs with an emphasis on verbal means can be based on various types of statements. The article analyses the arguments in complements in modern English and Ukrainian manipulative discourses. Special accent is laid upon the semantic and structural properties of compliments in manipulation. This research focuses specifically on the study of arguments of complementary utterances using the strategy of positive evaluation in modern English and Ukrainian manipulative discourses. Effective arguments, which usually occupy a postposition to the argumentated part and accompany complementary statements in manipulative discourse, include those offering generalized or exaggerated positive assessments of the interlocutor; comparing the addressee the third person/s; or praising the hearer’s professional skills, abilities, beauty, moral qualities and other personal traits. Applying a manipulative strategy with the appeal to the emotional component of the hearer, the speaker provides arguments to complimentary statements by means of assessments in order to change the communicator’s intentions. The analysis of the illustrative material shows that the key in emotional argumentation in modern English and Ukrainian manipulative discourses lies not only in its content but also in its form, specifically, in how the addressor constructs the argumentative part of the complimentary statement in order to exert manipulative influence.