Status and Personality Conditioning the Language Portrait of Politicians

The discourse of political actors is of particular interest as part of the socio-political situation that has developed in recent decades worldwide. The speech of politicians becomes the most important means of their communicative competence, on which their success largely depends. This research is devoted to the comparative analysis of the status and personal conditionality of the speech portrait of a politician on the material of the German and Russian languages on the example of their use in the speeches of A. Merkel and S. Lavrov. The analysis of the discursive practices of politicians on similar topics revealed the stylistic specificity of A. Merkel’s speeches as Chancellor and as former Chancellor of Germany compared with the speech specificity of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The research draws conclusions about the relationship between the status and the speech activity of a politician, establishing the main verbal markers characteristic of the speech portrait of a representative of power. As the comparative analysis shows, the speech of the head of the Foreign Ministry is richer in linguistic allusions and phraseological expressions. References to other political figures are characteristic for A. Merkel, which implies frequent use of anthroponyms. Linguistic realia and other stylistic means, presented in the system of the speech portrait of politicians, reflect the national and cultural flavor. They are a tool for implementing politically advantageous actions, including the manipulation of public consciousness.