Lenguaje político y lenguaje políticamente correcto en España (con especial atención al discurso parlamentario).

Abstract

Study of political and politically correct speech, the relations between language and knowledge, and its consequences for the political speech within mass media context. In the first part of this research, it is established the need to relate linguistic and extralinguistic factors. The close relation between language and power, and the adaptation of political rhetoric to context are good examples of such a need. Besides linguistic usage reveals as a powerful tool to correct reality. Within such a context, it seemed very relevant to investigate, on one side, American politically correct movement, as well as the consequences derived from it into Spanish society and language; on the other, the powerful influence of mass media, especially TV, to conform political speech. To finish, a review concerning the main research methodologies in Linguistics in order to determine which of these approaches have been most appropriate to give account of our subject matter. In the second part of our research, data are analysed, classified and described according to the results yield by el Debate sobre la Investidura a la Presidencia del Gobierno taking place at the Congress in 2000. These data revealed firstly that substitution, based on semantic analogy, is a fundamental linguistic tool to apprehend reality. Second, it also proved that value meaning, aimed mainly to correct, transform, and manipulate reality are primarily conveyed through euphemism (and disphemism) linguistic resources, but also through politically correct strategy as a variety of euphemism.