Unethical, Impolite or Unprincipled Communication? Searching for Criteria for Evaluation of mps Statements

Abstract

The text is devoted to an analysis of statements uttered by Members of Parliament (MPs). The source of the material was some records of the Committee for MPs Ethics meetings published on the website of the Sejm Office of the 8^th terms (as of 10 January till 14 June 2018 (no 56)). The aim of the paper is an attempt at delineating norms as well as finding out ways of qualifying communication that breaches certain rules. The description of sample statements is embedded in the research paradigm of communicativism and axiological linguistics.

The analysis has been organized as follows: introduction, characteristics of the material, presenting a set of rules that make a point of reference for the analyses under investigation, a description of the research method, and, finally, the presentation of select samples and conclusions.

On the basis of the study it has been observed that the examined statements, questioned by the addressees, sometimes make reference to reality on a general level, with the use of negatively charged labels, concern unverified contents and, frequently, besmirch the political opponent's good name.