Propaganda jako termin naukowy polskiej politolingwistyki
Propaganda as a scientific term for Polish political linguistics

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the article is to provide definitions of the concept propaganda and to explain the reasons for its controversial status as a scientific term describing contemporary political texts. In lexicographic works and in the literature in the field of political linguistics, propaganda is not understood unambiguously. Polish researchers define propaganda as the spreading of some views, particular political beliefs or attitudes, as well as attempts to influence behaviour by means of persuasive and/or manipulative nature. Propaganda has negative connotations associated with its flourishing in authoritarian regimes, where it was accompanied by censorship and government control of the mass media. In Polish political linguistics, the analyzed phenomenon refers predominantly to the socialist language, but polemical voices are also heard, emphasizing the inherent entanglement of politics and propaganda and the presence of propaganda in democratic regimes, where it serves the purposes of gaining and retaining power. The term propaganda is thus not neutral and as such, according to the author, should not be used as a scientific term.

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