American Journal Of Philological Sciences
330
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
PAGE NO.
330-333
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue05-91
Interpretations of Speech Influence in Modern
Linguistics
Yusupova Shakhzoda Tokhirjon kizi
Doctoral student at TSUUL named after A.Navoi, Uzbekistan
Received:
31 March 2025;
Accepted:
29 April 2025;
Published:
31 May 2025
Abstract:
This article explores the multifaceted concept of speech influence within the framework of modern
linguistics, highlighting its increasing relevance in contemporary society due to the growing use of persuasive
language in media, politics, and digital communication. The study outlines the linguistic and psychological
mechanisms that underpin effective persuasive speech, drawing on theories and findings from both Western and
Russian linguistic traditions. Key contributions by scholars such as D. Carnegie, R. Lakoff, T. Ulloa, I. Sternin, and
O. Issers are discussed to differentiate between forms of influence such as convincing versus persuading. The
paper emphasizes the importance of lexical choice, emotional appeal, message clarity, and speaker credibility in
the process of speech influence, and concludes by identifying the interdisciplinary nature of this phenomenon,
integrating insights from psycholinguistics, rhetoric, communication theory, and sociolinguistics.
Keywords:
Speech influence, persuasive discourse, convincing vs persuading, linguistic means, psychological
impact, rhetoric, communicative linguistics, psycholinguistics, mass communication, manipulation in language.
Introduction:
In contemporary society, speech has
evolved into a potent instrument for influencing and
guiding public behavior. The advent of mass media and
social networking platforms has facilitated the
proliferation of eloquent individuals who position
themselves as leaders, motivators, and influencers,
significantly
impacting
public
consciousness.
Consequently, the analysis of speech influence and its
underlying mechanisms has become increasingly
pertinent. This paper addresses both linguistic and
psychological dimensions of persuasive speech,
exploring how these elements collectively determine
its effectiveness in public discourse.
Literature review
The phenomenon of speech influence has garnered
extensive attention across linguistic and psychological
research. Carnegie (1936) was among the earliest to
elucidate
practical
aspects
of
persuasive
communication, emphasizing clarity and relatability.
Linguistically, persuasive discourse
—
described by
Lakoff (1982) as communicative attempts designed to
alter another individual's behavior or attitudes
—
has
become essential in fields like marketing and
advertising. Research identifies credibility, simplicity,
relevance, memorability, novelty, and subtlety as
pivotal factors enhancing persuasive effectiveness
(O’Keefe, 2002; Perloff, 2003; Valerias
-Jurado et al.,
2018).
F. Ulloa (2019) distinguishes between "convincing," a
logic-driven
approach,
and
"persuading,"
an
emotionally charged influence, thereby underscoring
the role of lexical choice, avoidance of negative
connotations, and strategic intimidation. Russian
linguists Sternin (1993, 2010, 2012) and Issers (2009)
conceptualize speech influence broadly and narrowly,
highlighting its multidisciplinary nature, integrating
linguistics, psychology, rhetoric, pragmatics, and
communication theory. Parshin (2000) and Shelestyuk
(2009) expand on this, examining how linguistic and
paralinguistic cues reshape collective and individual
consciousness, while Kovaleva (2023) notes the
interplay between verbal, emotional, and mental
components in speech acts.
METHODOLOGY
This study employs a comprehensive analytical
approach, synthesizing theoretical insights from
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
331
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
linguistic pragmatics, psycholinguistics, and rhetoric.
Qualitative content analysis was applied to primary
linguistic texts and secondary literature sources to
identify and interpret key mechanisms of persuasive
speech. The research methodology involved:
•
A systematic review of classical and
contemporary literature on persuasive linguistics;
•
Comparative analysis of persuasive techniques
identified in practical examples from political
discourse, advertising, and mass media;
•
Psycholinguistic analysis focusing on cognitive
and emotional responses elicited by different
persuasive strategies;
•
Examination of linguistic data for evidence of
lexical choice, rhetorical devices, and argumentation
structures, emphasizing their psychological impact on
the audience.
In the modern world, using speech to control people
and influence the public has become widespread.
People who can create effective speeches and are
eloquent are using the media and social networks to
introduce themselves as leaders, influencers, and
motivators, and are engaged in influencing the minds
of the general public. Such a wide application of various
methods and means of speech influence in everyday
life determines the relevance of this issue.
The main part
The implementation of speech influence is related to
both linguistic and psychological factors. In this case,
linguistically, speech must be structured clearly,
correctly, and polished, and it must contain means of
expression
that
can
influence
the
listener.
Psychologically, speech must be structured in such a
way that it can influence the listener’s consciousness
and contain certain means of psychological influence.
For this reason, the issue of speech influence has
attracted the attention of both linguists and
psychologists.
One of the first scientists to pay attention to the issue
of influence through speech was D. Carnegie. D.
Carnegie, who explained to the public in a way that is
understandable to the public how to carry out effective
communication through his books, shed light on the
practical aspects of the issue of speech influence.
In English linguistics, speech that aims to influence and
achieve a certain result by using linguistic means is
c
alled “persuasive language”, “persuasive speech”, or
“persuasive discourse”. In most cases, persuasive
speech is used in marketing and advertising texts,
aiming to attract a potential buyer to buy a product.
The famous linguist Lakoff compares persuasive
discourse and ordinary discourse, the scientist
determines that persuasive discourse differs from
ordinary communication based on advertising
materials and defines persuasive speech as “the act or
desire of one party to try to change the behavior,
feelings, intentions, or point of view of another party
by means of communicative means” (Lakoff, 1982).
According to research, the effectiveness of persuasive
speech depends on several factors:
1. The speaker must be credible and the listener must
trust the speaker.
2. The message must be simple and easy to understand.
If the message is complex, the listener will not try to
understand it.
3. The message must be relevant and interesting to the
listener.
4. The message must be memorable. A message that
listeners can remember without much effort is more
effective.
5. The message must be new and unexpected. If
listeners have prior knowledge of the message or know
in advance what the conclusion will be, the message
will be less effective.
6. The message should not be forced into the listener,
the listener should have the impression that they have
come to this conclusion themselves, even if it is
directed at making a decision (O’Keefe 2002, Perloff
2003, Valerias-Jurado et.al. 2018).
F. Ulloa analyzes the forms of in
fluence “convincing”
and “persuading”, “while “convincing” someone means
bringing a person to a certain conclusion with the help
of logical arguments, “persuading” is based on
emotional aspects. Therefore, to convince we appeal to
the “head” of another per
son, to persuade to his
“heart”. This implies manipulation; if (manipulative
influence) is done well, the recipients will never know
that they have been manipulated” (Ulloa, 2019).
Therefore, convincing is the process of assuring the
recipient of the correctness of an idea or view, while
persuading is the process of influencing the recipient to
perform an action.
The author cites several tools that help in persuasion
using persuasive speech:
1. Lexical choice is the main tool of persuasive speech.
Politicians and product marketers achieve persuasion
by choosing the right words, using them in the desired
meaning, and also by embedding words in the human
mind through repetition.
2. “Avoidance” techniques. This refers to the lack of
clarity in the speaker’s s
peech; avoiding lexical units
that have a negative meaning and evoke negative
emotions.
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
332
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
3. Influence based on intimidation (Ulloa, 2019).
In Russian linguistics, the term “речевое воздиеся”
(speech influence) began to be used in the 1990s
(Sternin, 1993; Sternin, 1994). I. Sternin calls speech
influence the science of effective communication and
evaluates this science as a separate field that combines
traditional systematic linguistics, communicative
linguistics,
psycholinguistics,
pragmalinguistics,
rhetoric, discourse linguistics, stylistics, speech culture,
psychology,
theory
of
mass
communication,
advertising, personnel management, sociology, public
relations, cultural studies, ethnography, conflictology
and various other scientific fields (Sternin, 2010;
Sternin, 2012).
O. Issers, however, states that this concept can be
understood in two different senses - in a broad and
narrow sense, and in a broad sense, speech influence is
any speech communication aimed at achieving a
certain goal. When used in
a narrow sense, “in speech
influence, communicants are not connected by
relations of subordination (formal or informal), but by
relations of equal cooperation. This type of speech
influence implies that its subject regulates the activities
of another person, who is to a certain extent free to
choose his actions and act in accordance with his
needs” (Issers, 2009).
P. Parshin defines speech influence as “influence on
individual and / or collective consciousness and
behavior, carried out using various speech means, in
other words, messages in natural language” (Parshin,
2000). According to Y. Shelestyuk, speech influence is
the influence on the recipient using linguistic,
paralinguistic and non-linguistic symbolic means, which
is associated with changing the
recipient’s personal
views on a particular object, restructuring its
categorical constructions, and influencing emotional or
psychophysiological processes, taking into account the
speaker’s specific objective goals in the process of
speech (Shelestyuk, 2009).
Speech influence is carried out in the form of a three-
part structure
–
verbal: speech, mental, emotional; it
involves the activation of all elements of the speech act
and is associated with the levels of human
consciousness. Different speech genres, determined by
the individual characteristics of the speech act, require
a specific approach to the implementation of speech
influence (Kovaleva, 2023). As noted, speech influence
is intended to encourage the recipient to take an action
or stop him from doing something by influencing his
mind and psyche. In this case, it is difficult to achieve
the intended goal only by speaking and listening. A
good knowledge and understanding of the human mind
and psyche, and thereby strengthening the
mechanisms of influence, is also considered a specific
issue of speech influence. Mental influence on the
human mind involves forcing the listener to think by
presenting certain facts and arguments, and thereby
changing his views. Such an influence is somewhat
complex and requires thorough preparation and
argumentation from the speaker. Influencing the
listener’s emotions is carried out through the use of
emotional linguistic means, the emergence of certain
memories, and positive or negative emotions in the
recipient. Such an influence is considered stronger and
more effective than mental influence. Because under
the influence of emotions, a person’s mental abilities
become dull, the level of thinking decreases, and the
likelihood of accepting information without critical
evaluat
ion increases. “Indeed, increasing emotionality
reduces the likelihood of mental resistance, and
therefore emotional linguistic information has a great
potential for influence” (Tolkunova, 1998).
CONCLUSION
In sum, effective speech influence integrates linguistic
precision and psychological astuteness. Its efficacy is
significantly enhanced by strategically employing
credibility, simplicity, emotional resonance, and subtle
persuasive tactics. This interplay of linguistic structures
and psychological insights underscores the critical
importance of understanding persuasive mechanisms
in contemporary communication. Future research
should further explore interdisciplinary methods,
considering the dynamic evolution of language use
within digital and globalized contexts, to better grasp
and leverage the potential of speech as a tool for
positive social influence. In modern linguistics, speech
influence is considered a unity consisting of the triad of
addresser, addressee, and influence, attention should
be paid to the stylistic and psycholinguistic features of
the emergence of speech act.
REFERENCES
Fernández Ulloa, T. (2019). The Rhetoric of Persuasion.
Talking to Our Emotions. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada
a
la
Comunicación
80,
-pp.
3-6,
https://dx.doi.org/10.5209/clac.66596.
Lackoff, R. (1982). Persuasion discourse and ordinary
conversation with examples from advertising. In D.
Tannen (ed.), Analysing discourse, text and talk (pp. 25-
42). Georgetown University Press.
O’Keefe D. Persuasion: Theory a
nd Research. London:
Sage Publications, 2002.
J. VALEIRAS-JURADO, N. RUIZ-MADRID & G. JACOBS.
Revisiting persuasion in oral academic and professional
genres: Towards a methodological framework for
Multimodal
Discourse
Analysis
of
research
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
333
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
dissemination talks//Ibérica 35 (2018). -p. 93-118.
Perloff R. The Dynamics of Persuasion. New Jersey,
London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003.
Иссерс О.С. Речевое воздействие: учеб. пособие для
студентов, обучающихся по специальности «Связи с
общественностью» /О.С. Иссерс. –
М.: Флинта:
Наука, 2009.
Паршин П. Б. Речевое воздействие: основные
формы и разновидности //Рекламный текст:
Семиотика и лингвистика.
-
М., 2000.
Ковалева С. Язык народного загорова: культурно
-
прагматические
аспекты.
Автореф.дисс.канд.филол.наук. –
Белгород, 2023. –
21 c.
Стернин И.А. Речевое воздействие как наука /
Проблемы развития общей культуры курсантов в
процессе обучения.
-
Воронеж, 1993.
Стернин И.А. Теоретические проблемы обучения
речевому воздействию/ Принципы и проблемы
филологической дидактики.
-
Пермь, 1994.
Стернин И.А.Речевое воздействие как интегральная
наука / Речевое воздействие.
-
Воронеж
-
Москва,
2000.
Стернин И.А. Основы речевого воздействия.
Учебное издание. –
Воронеж: «Истоки», 2012.
- 178
с.
Толкунова
Е.Г.
Суггестологическое
описание
современных русских рекламных текстов: Автореф.
дисс. канд. филол. наук, 1998.
Шелестюк Е. Речевое воздействие: онтология и
методология исследования. Автореф.дисс.доктор
филол.наук.
-
Челябинск, 2009.
