Концепт «пропаганда» з позицій прагматичної та юридичної лінгвістики

The article presents a theoretical substantiation of an algorithm for the linguistic qualification of verbal actions described by the legal-linguistic term propaganda. According to the provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, propaganda of war, communist and national-socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes, and propaganda aimed at facilitating armed aggression against Ukraine, establishing and consolidating the temporary occupation of parts of Ukraine's territory, and evading responsibility for the aggressor state's military aggression against Ukraine are all prohibited. Since the term propaganda is used in the Criminal Code of Ukraine to denote a distinct category of crimes, the commission of such verbal acts must be diagnosed in linguistic expert examination through an exhaustive set of linguo-pragmatic features and criteria. To qualify verbal actions as propaganda, it is necessary to understand their linguo-pragmatic parameters. This involves identifying who the subject of propaganda is, who the target audience is, the pragmatic content of the verbal act, the illocutionary means used, and the manner in which such an act may be performed in modern socio-political communication. In order to provide a legal-linguistic definition of propaganda applicable to linguistic expert examination, it is crucial to clearly identify its distinctive features and thus differentiate the verbal act of propaganda from other verbal acts with a similar communicative orientation — those that also involve persuasion and suggestion — and especially from those that are likewise classified as crimes under the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The article analyzes those linguo-pragmatic characteristics of modern propagandist discourse that may serve as diagnostic indicators. It outlines the linguo-pragmatic criteria and distinctive features whose combination within a particular communicative context allows verbal actions to be qualified. as propaganda of a certain kind.