Enunciation and persuasion in texts of different genders

Abstract

All texts have, ultimately, a persuasive character, in the sense they aim to act upon the other, upon the reader, in an attempt to make-believe, make-do. That make-believe/make-do is what matters in this study, it is, to address some questions concerning the production of meanings in texts of different genders (scientific, journalistic and advertising) which aim to persuade the reader. In this context, in the light of the studies of enunciation, this work discusses three aspects related to choices made by the enunciator in the construction of the enunciation in order to confer credibility to the speech and ensure its power of persuasion. Firstly, it is discussed the status of objectivity that scientific texts usually present. After that the focus is on the journalistic genre (news), where the status of truth/impartiality of the facts reported is questioned. And, finally, the character of orality/writing that the advertising texts use in order to persuade the reader is analyzed. It is important, therefore, understand that objectivity, truth, orality, and writing are effects of meaning produced by the choices – conscious or unconscious – of the producer of the text, which arise on the textual surface with the intention of persuasion.