Retoryka wykluczenia a retoryka uwiarygodnienia: „prawdziwi Polacy” w dyskursie parlamentarnym
Rhetoric of exclusion and rhetoric of credibility: “real Poles” in parliamentary discourse

Summary/Abstract: The distinction between “us” and “them” serves as a tool for the authorities to shape national identity by defining the boundaries of belonging and exclusion. The aim of the study was to analyse how the expression “true Poles” is defined in speeches in the Sejm. The analysis was conducted on a corpus of parliamentary speeches from 1989-2023, comprising over 291,000 plenary session speeches. Examining the context of the mention of “true Poles”, the emotions it evokes, the type of opposition construction between “true Poles” and the rest of the nation, together with the analysis of applied topoi (loci), allowed for conclusions regarding the political intentions of using this expression, which we interpret in terms of “rhetoric of exclusion” and “rhetoric of legitimisation.” By applying this perspec¬tive, the study sheds new light on the universal mechanisms of constructing national identity in public discourse, showing how classical argumentative schemes are adapted to contemporary political debates.

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