Axiological Vectors in the American and Russian Presidental Discourse: The State of the Union Address and the Address to the Russian Federal Assembly Compared

Abstract

Presidential discourse is an indicative of axiological and other developmental vectors of a linguocultural community. It informs one about the main social, cultural, economic, and political changes in a country. In this respect, the annual State of the Union Address in the USA and the Address to the Federal Assembly in Russia are seen as the highlights of the political calendar in both countries, as these statements summarise the most relevant issues and enable their respective leaders to elaborate on their vision of their nation’s future. This paper aims to analise and compare the axiological vectors developed in the given presidential addresses in both Russia and the USA in the period from 2009 to 2015. It traces not only the most relevant values promoted by the political leaders, but also any axiological changes that occurred in the eventful years under investigation. The results of the research inform one about the current axiological identities of the linguocultural communities in question and the changing vectors of their development.

Keywords

• values
• presidential discourse
• State of the Union Address
• Address to Federal Assembly 1