PARTICULAR PRAGMATIC ASPECTS OF CONTEXT AND ARGUMENTATIVE STRATEGIES IN CURRENT OCCASIONAL RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE. PARAENESIS (AN APPLIED STUDY)

While considering occasional sermons (paraenesis) as a separate homiletic genre, distinct from the other forms of speech acknowledged in specialized orthodox writings, we will point out, in this paper, a series of its particular aspects related to: the situational context in which the speeches are delivered; the preacher’s purposes, his status and attitude towards his audience and towards the orthodox cult in general; the type of audience it is intended for. These elements, which actually make up the contextual parameters of the whole communication event, require certain qualities of the preacher, especially during these (occasional) “circumstances”, namely increased rhetoric sensitivity and pragmatic competence. Therefore, as paraenesis is a discourse of performance, with an argumentative component, the preacher will use both specific speech contracts and special argumentative strategies, some of which are described hereunder. Our analysis will include two topical paraeneses, the body of which will be enclosed at the end of this paper; the transcription from audio-video tapes complied with the standards required by the current spoken Romanian corpuses