Aline Roes Dalmolin 86 Figure 2 - News about the terms used by President Bolsonaro. Source: Estadão (2019) e Veja (2019) This dissolution of crystallized meanings exposes the language game to the unpleasantness of interpretation. The lexi- con is subject to reconfiguration within extremist mediaspheres, where keywords take on the character of watchwords that put the individuals involved in strongly polarized positions. These can be expressed through proper names (Marielle Franco, Paulo Freire, Lula), opinions (against guns, in favor of abortion, in favor of corruption....), or even biopolitical denominations: wom- an, gay, transsexual, black, indigenous, northeastern, etc. The use of vulgar and coarse expressions was enshrined in the speech of Olavo de Carvalho, a writer revered by Bolsonaro supporters, and has become a recurring language in the extremist mediasphere and a common feature in the president’s own statements. The fact is that the count of profanities uttered by the then-president at a televised ministerial meeting in June 2020 became the main topic of the headlines that reported on the event. This rhetoric is crossed by a constant expression of the phatic function, in which the repetition of these expressions is superimposed on the arguments, often supported by images related to the cultural war imaginary. Weapons, Brazilian flags, military insignia, and military gestures are examples of this
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