“Literatura mirovoj revoljucii”, 5-6, 1931 - [S012]
Communicative Intention: Creation of the image of the Other as the "Enemy"
Utterance Aim: To arouse suspicion in the reader and cause him to distance himself from the concept described
Concrete Linguistic Means/Tool: Use of ironic inverted commas
Journal Title: "Literatura mirovoj revoljucii"
Journal Number: 5-6
Contexts & Examples: Против популизма выступили одновременно правое и «левое» крыло французской литературы. Первые отстаивали с пеной у рта старые позиции «чистого искусства» или искусства развлекательного, и резко ополчились против популизма, узрев в нём попытку снизвести искусство с его автономных позиций в презренную социальную действительность, от которой современный буржуазный интеллигент старается укрыться.
Edited by Svetlana Slavkova
The use of ironic inverted commas in the designations indicates that the author does not support these phenomena, or, at least, does not recognise them as acceptable. It is implicitly suggested to the reader that the segment of French literary society that describes itself as ‘levoe‘ [left-wing] is in fact not so, that its ideology is comparable to social-fascism, and that its progressive rhetoric is a tool to mask the true social-fascist essence of its output. This rhetorical device, the recurrent and systematic use of ironic inverted commas, testifies not only to a precise discursive strategy, but also to a certain aggressive charge: doubt is in fact instilled in the reader in an absolutely conscious manner, with the aim of gaining his consent and making him become ONE of US, demarcating a clear boundary with respect to the OTHERS. A heated tone and a sincere polemical intent aimed at forcefully rejecting the concepts discussed, as well as disagreement with the positions held by exponents of Western European art and culture, also emerge.