Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to analyze the development of the political character in Alfonso R. Castelao's discourse (Galician nationalist leader in the 30s and 40s, mythical figure for Galician nationalist discourse), in the context of his first years of exile in Argentina (as a consequence of the defeat of the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War), using a specific corpus: the articles he published in the newspaper El Orensano (Buenos Aires, 1944). His role as a spokesman, the discourse action, the verbal marks he uses, become the construction of the political, rational and passionate, ethical and legitimate subject, with whom Castelao institutes a new discourse foundation and a tradition for the Galician nationalism. The statement, a device that constructs meaning, is the basis for our work. El Orensano establishes, in a historical moment of emergency characterized by a struggle against Franco's dictatorship, an ideological knowledge and a particular kind of political characters. The questions are: how does a character appear as a spokesman and a bearer of group values?, how is his language?, which are the components of his discourse to create a community of discourse and, by extension, a political community?, why does this character appear as an example of discourse ethos given that he 'adds' a particular voice, body and tone to his discourse? To analyze the construction of the activist character, concepts as spokesman, community of discourse, and discourse ethos show us how a speaker expresses his voice, body and temper (undissociating these from the determinants that govern them), and they also open ways to analyze the strategic character of ideology and the effectiveness of discourse.

Author: Graciana Vázquez Villanueva