Metacommunication as a tool of manipulative influence in German-language advertising discourse
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31558/1815-3070.2026.51.6Keywords:
advertising discourse, manipulative influence, metacommunication, multimodality, pragmalinguisticsAbstract
The article examines metacommunicative utterances as a means of covert manipulative influence in German-language advertising discourse. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing role of implicit persuasive strategies in conditions of information overload and by the linguocultural specificity of German modal markers. The aim is to identify and systematise metacommunicative tactics and to analyse their interaction with visual elements. The material comprises 107 advertising texts (2015–2025). The methodology combines discourse, pragmalinguistic and multimodal analysis. The study develops a functional typology of metacommunicative tactics, including creating an illusion of trust, simulating communication, emotional contagion, appeal to authority, and expressing personal opinion. It is shown that their manipulative potential is realised through explicit and implicit means, while visual elements perform a directive function, shaping the perception of advertising as authentic experience.
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