EVOLUTION OF MYTHOLOGEMS IN AMERICAN COURTROOM DISCOURSE

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the study of mythologems in English courtroom discourse. The phenomenon of mythologems was analyzed on the authentic documents of the American trials of 1894, 1921, and 1969-1970. The conceptual understanding of the changes taking place is impossible without knowledge and understanding of the nature, essence, properties and purpose of myths in general. The role of myth is twofold. First, it is possible to identify the consolidating function of myth, as it performs a kind of defensive function in society. Second, manipulative, when it is myth that becomes a means of regulating the consciousness of social groups.

In this context, it is appropriate to refer to the concept of verbal mythologization. Defense lawyers both of the past and of the present resort to the verbal mythologizing of defendants, creating the myth of the innocently convicted person who has become a victim of circumstances, or even acting as a fighter for justice. This verbal mythologizing is largely unchanged, although modern lawyers interpret the components that make up this scheme quite differently. The more obvious distinction between nineteenth-century mythologems and modern ones is the abandonment of the singularity of the perception of the defendant to the plurality of such perception. Finally, the most obvious distinguishing characteristic of contemporary judicial mythologems is their sharply expressed axiological character. One of the reasons for the axiologization of modern mythologems is the fact that the media often cover trial. So, the more emotional and evaluative the lawyers' narrative is, the more interesting it is for listeners to perceive it. The further study of the phenomenon is considered to be perspective, as a number of questions were left beyond the scope of this research.