Epithets as status indicators in the speech of English-speaking leaders

the article is devoted to the study of the epithet functioning as a marker of social status in administrative discourse. The relevance of the work is determined by the need to study this linguistic category in the context of status-oriented communication. The aim of the study is to identify and comprehensively analyze the status-marking functions of the epithet in administrative discourse. The study identified and analyzed four main functions of the epithet in status-marked communication: attributive-classifying, figurative-artistic, emotive-evaluative and argumentative-persuasive. Practical analysis has shown that epithets in the speech of managers serve as an instrument of institutional dominance, a means of accumulating symbolic capital and a mechanism of discursive coercion. The obtained results testify to the transformation of the epithet from a means of artistic expression into an effective technique for constructing and maintaining power asymmetry in administrative discourse. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of applying its results in the field of corporate communications, in training managers, in teaching business English, as well as in the field of intercultural communication. The identified patterns can be used to develop practical recommendations for the effective use of epithets in managerial speech.

epithet, administrative discourse, leader, status, speech influence, linguistic marker, organizational communication