Interaction of Stereotypes in Communicative Strategies of American Sociopolitical Discourse

Abstract

The article discusses how stereotypes about political parties interplay with religious stereotypes and stereotypes about immigrants in communicative strategies of American sociopolitical discourse to attack political opponents or defend one’s own position. The analysis of on-comments in the newspapers allows showing how evaluation is transferred from one group to another and how generalisation from one marginal part is used to tarnish the whole group. It is also shown how destereotyping is used as defense and how defense strategies are turned into attack strategies. Analysis of global strategies, used as coordination of local strategies of individual commenters, gives evidence of group identity building through discursive use of stereotypes. Refs 31.