“Spousal Relations” as a Lexical-Semantic Field of Economic Discourse: An Analysis of Manipulative Potential

The study aims to explore “spousal relations” as a lexical-semantic field of professional jargon in economic discourse by identifying lexical items and expressions related to spousal relations and used to discuss economic issues. Additionally, the article aims to identify the implications of using the units comprising “spousal relations” as a lexical-semantic field of professional jargon in economic discourse, specifically in terms of their manipulative potential. The research was conducted using a corpus of approximately 100,000 words sourced from online newspapers between 2010 and 2023. The lexical-semantic analysis supplemented with contextual analysis were employed to identify lexical items and expressions comprising “spousal relations” as a lexical-semantic field and investigate how these are used in economic contexts for manipulative purposes. The study finds that most professional jargon units belonging to the lexical-semantic field of “spousal relations” could be assigned to it only by association, as they bear common semantic components, such as “family” or “child”. Furthermore, the study shows that professional jargon units are commonly used in both informational and motivational texts, and in both cases have the proclivity to fulfil the manipulative potential. Study results highlight the importance of understanding the usage of professional jargon in different texts, and the role it plays in shaping our understanding of professional discourses. The research contributes to the comprehension of linguistic manipulation and emphasises the importance of taking a nuanced and context-specific approach to the analysis of professional jargon in different domains of discourse.