Nikolenko O.V., Matveeva G.G. Categorical Statements as a Manifestation of Authority (Based on the Speech of a Psychotherapist)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2026.1.11
Olga V. Nikolenko
Candidate of Sciences (Philology), Associate Professor, Department of Russian as a Foreign Language in Professional Activities, Don State Technical University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7163-6872
Galina G. Matveeva
Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor, Department of Integrative and Digital Linguistics, Don State Technical University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6407-4274
Abstract. The article focuses on the strategies and tactics used in psychotherapeutic discourse to demonstrate psychotherapist's authority in various communicative situations; the related speech signals that actualize the feature under study are identified. The authors employ the methods of covert pragmalinguistics: throughout the psychotherapy sessions, in television interviews and online channel utterances, as well as in social media correspondence the addresser's manifestation of authority is diagnosed by identifying quantitative indicators of unconscious use of familiar grammatical forms and the deliberate choice of lexical markers. An experiment carried out to assess psychotherapist's authority using the "Confident/Uncconfident Speech Behavior of the Author" strategy and its plans (a plan for a categorical statement and a plan for a non-categorical statement) demonstrated that authority is represented gradually. It depends on the specifics of the speech genre, the situation and goals of communication, the degree of the target audience's thematic awareness, etc. According to the data obtained, a higher level of authority in interviews, online speeches, and blog posts is associated with the requirements of a speech situation: first and foremost, the speaker must engage the target audience with the information presented, demonstrate their professionalism, and attract attention to themselves as a specialist. A psychotherapist displays authority more gently in a psychotherapy session, where, through non-judgmental statements, they enable the client to choose their own path to problem resolution.
Key words: covert pragmalinguistics, strategy of speech influence, authority, categoricity, non-categoricity.
Citation. Nikolenko O.V., Matveeva G.G. Categorical Statements as a Manifestation of Authority (Based on the Speech of a Psychotherapist). Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 2. Yazykoznanie [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. Linguistics], 2026, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 157-169. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2026.1.11
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