Astafurova T.N., Palashevskaya I.V. Semiolinguistic Transformation of British Monarchy Power Ritual
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2026.1.7
Tatiana N. Astafurova
Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor, Department of Foreign Language Communication and Linguodidactics, Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russia
Professor, Department of Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, Volgograd State Technical University, Volgograd, Russia
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1299-8109
Irina V. Palashevskaya
Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor, Department of Foreign Language Communication and Linguodidactics, Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russia
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2719-8147
Abstract. The article reveals the semiolinguistic features of the coronation discourse, reflecting the stages of the coronation ritual as a phenomenon of sacred legitimization of royal power. The basic characteristics of the coronation discourse and performative speech acts of the semiosis of power are determined. The semiolinguistic transformations associated with the main stages of the ritual, the monarch's oath, are identified and described. Over the centuries, coronation ritual has been preserved mainly in its verbal representation (basic toposes, its compositional design and linguistics) but has undergone numerous changes in extralinguistic factors (the type of language and form of the oath, the place and time of the ritual, its artifacts and role structure, entertainment and feasts, etc.). Extralinguistic transformations were determined by religious, political, socio-economic, and cultural changes in the British society, which led to a turn from the theocratic (religious) system of government to a feudal, more secular one. The analysis of the discursive characteristics of the speech genre of monarch's oath allows to determine the isomorphism of its basic intention, namely, a solemn appeal to God as a witness to the oath, after which the monarch became the true vicar of God on earth, the supreme ruler of the Church of England. The transformation (variability) of the speech acts of the oath – promise, assurance, warning, command, threat – reflects the increasing degree of the imperative monarch's will. The analysis of authentic historical documents has shown that the most frequent transformations of the coronation ritual affected locative, chronological, topo-semiotic, and artifact components, often influenced by patterns of continental ceremonies.
Key words: coronation discourse, speech act, coronation oath, linguistic means of performance, ritual transformation, extralinguistic factors.
Citation. Astafurova T.N., Palashevskaya I.V. Semiolinguistic Transformation of British Monarchy Power Rituals. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 2. Yazykoznanie [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. Linguistics], 2026, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 91-104. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2026.1.7
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