Provocative speech strategy in medical discourse (based on the fiction of physician-writers)

The research aims to identify the causes of provocation and the primary tactics used in medical discourse during negative speech interaction. The study is based on literary works of the 20th and 21st centuries by physician-writers, including D. A. Pravdin (“Notes of a District Surgeon”), V. P. Aksyonov (“Colleagues; Ticket to the Stars”), M. Malyavin (“Notes of a Psychiatrist”), and A. I. Egina (“Tales of Conscience”) – texts that have not previously been analyzed from this perspective. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that it is the first to analyze medical discourse as reflected in Russian prose from the standpoint of speech influence theory. The research identifies the main tactics used within provocative speech strategies by both doctors and patients, defines the primary targets and techniques of manipulation for both parties, and reveals the lexical and grammatical means that initiate negative communication. Furthermore, the study identifies the intentions of addressers that either lead to the development of a negative communication scenario or contribute to its neutralization. The results of the research include: 1) identifying two types of provocation – intentional and unintentional; 2) determining the primary causes for each type and the intentions of addressers (intentional provocation is used by doctors to facilitate medical care more quickly, while unintentional provocation appears in patients’ speech as a form of psychological defense or aggression).