Argumentative patterns in discourse

This paper discusses the ways in which argumentative discourse prototypically manifests itself. As a consequence of the institutional preconditions applying to the strategic manoeuvring taking place in specific communicative activity types, certain context-dependent argumentative patterns of standpoints, argument schemes and argumentation structures can be observed. Because of their interest in the extent to which argumentative discourse is context-dependent, pragma-dialecticians are out to discover such specific patterns. As a case in point, the authors discuss some institutionally motivated argumentative patterns in parliamentary debate in the European Parliament

Fallacies in Transition: An Assessment of the Pragma-Dialectical Perspective

The paper critically investigates the pragma-dialectics of van Eemeren and Grootendorst, particularly the treatment of fallacies. While the pragma-dialectieians claim that dialectics combines the logical and rhetorical approaches to argumentation, it is argued here that the perspective relies heavily on rhetorical features that have been suppressed in the account and that overlooking these features leads to significant problems in the pragma-dialectical perspective. In light of these problems, the author advocates turning attention to a rhetorical account which subsumes the logical and dialectical

Explizite Konnexion der Argumentation in den Wahlprogrammen deutscher und italienischer Parteien am Beispiel der kausalen Konnektoren weil und perché

The present PhD Dissertation deals with the linguistic study of the different ways in which the German and Italian connectives Weil and perché are used to express explicitly causal relations between sentences within argumentative political texts, more precisely within election programmes of different German and Italian parties. The descriptive analysis aims at individuating differences and similarities between both speech communities regarding the application of the mentioned connectives in political contexts which reflect cultural peculiarities of both nations. The first, theoretic part of the thesis pursues the objective to define political text and argumentation in a contemporary and for the analysis useful way. It presents an overview on the historical evolution and conceptualization of what we understand as a political text and its main characteristics from a rhetorical, terminology research and text linguistical point of view. Thereon the necessary theoretical assumptions will be compiled to define the concept of argumentation as well as the language tools that are involved in the expression of argumentation. The empiric part of the thesis finally deals with the contrastive analysis of the causal connectives in German and Italian election programmes investigating especially the following aspects: a) syntactical position, b) morphology of the connected expressions and c) argumentative strength