The listing series in the closing of discourses

Abstract

The openings and closings are the two main parts of a discourse. In the present study we focus on the closings of the discourses produced by the presidents of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and José María Aznar, in the 'Debates on the State of the Nation' addressed in the present century. In all of them, the same sections and devices have been identifed. Among these, particularly outstanding is what will be referred to here from a syntactic-semantic viewpoint as a "listing series", which is multipurpose in its functionality/ interaction potential. The priority of this element is in turn conditioned by the suitability of this device to convey the features of this stage of the discourse, in which a conclusive type of exposition, argumentative emphasis, and adornment are pre-eminent.