The pragmatics of jazz terminology in the public discourse of TED talks

The article aims to explore the pragmatics of jazz terminology in TED talks, which are known for their scientific and educational nature. The goal was to identify patterns of how jazz terms function in contexts that are not directly related to music, and to understand their contribution to creating an effective strategy for delivering material to an audience. The analysis was conducted using a corpus of English-language TED talk transcripts selected by advanced keyword search, followed by manual selection of relevant term occurrences. The empirical basis was supplemented with information from reputable dictionaries such as the Online Etymology Dictionary and Oxford Music Online. Pragmatic and semantic analysis methods were employed. The results of the study show that jazz terminology plays an important role in TED talks. It helps to initiate creative associations, conceptualize abstract ideas, and create additional channels of persuasion by activating both rational and emotional perceptions in the audience. Jazz terminology also enhances expressiveness of statements and forms the semantic field for intergroup interaction. In this sense, jazz acts as a universal cultural code. The findings suggest that jazz terminology has significant heuristic value in public communication, highlighting its potential as a tool for organizing polyphonic discourse and enriching lecturers’ communicative repertoire. The data we obtained have practical significance for linguapragmatics, media linguistics, and pedagogical linguistics. We propose some prospects for further in-depth research on the mechanisms of integrating jazz terminology into various communication environments, taking into account age, education, and professionally determined differences in audience perception.