A rhetorical text analysed by linguistic methodologies: selected remarks on the analysis of the historical utility prose

Magdalena Smoleń-Wawrzusiszyn

Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II

Abstract

This paper discusses methodological dilemmas that a linguist faces when working on a historical rhetorical text. The author ponders upon the relationship between the variety of linguistic methodological approaches with the pragmatic-linguistic stand as paramount and the rhetorical methodology. Also, attempts at consolidating these two types of approach are ventured. The major problem encountered by linguists is that the particular layers of analysis overlap, which is mostly due to the fact that the rhetorical plane of the text must always be taken into account by the linguists in their analyses. The solution put forward by the author is that of a syncretic approach: a harmonious consolidation of the analytical linguistic methodology with the research tools developed by classical rhetorical theory, leading to a consistent, holistic account of the subject matter. These methodological reflections result from the author’s analysis of the 19th-century rhetoric texts by Jan Śniadecki.

Keywords:

linguistic methodology, rhetorical methodology, methodological syncretism, historical utility prose