LINGUOPRAGMATIC ASPECTS OF THE LANGUAGE OF BRANDS OF SPANISH-SPEAKING CITIES

Abstract

The article examines the linguo-pragmatic aspects of the brand language of Spanish-speaking cities as an important component of urban brand communication. It analyzes how linguistic means – city names, slogans, symbols, logos and other verbal elements – perform the functions of identification, positioning and image formation. The aim of the study is to identify strategies of linguistic manifestation of city brands, their pragmatic orientation and impact on audience perception. The article considers a pragmatic approach to the analysis of city brand communication in terms of speech act theory (J. Austin, J. Searle). It is proposed an author’s model of the interaction of the locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary levels which reflects the dynamic nature of the communicative system of the city brand and the complex nature of language strategies in building a city brand. Special attention is paid to the functions of speech acts in slogans, official texts, and advertising messages of Spanish and Latin American cities. The article also explores the concept of reflexivity of brand discourse, which determines its adaptability to sociocultural changes and audience reactions. It is proved that brand communication functions as a pragmatically closed system, in which language performs not only a representative but also a social interaction function, ensuring the flexibility and adaptability of urban identity in a global context. The methodology is based on a combined approach: corpus analysis of brand materials (official websites, advertising presentations, logos and slogans), stylistic and pragmatic analysis, and data comparison between several cities in Spain and Latin America. The study highlights the following aspects: linguistic images, cultural and linguistic referents, the role of the ethnocultural component, linguistic means of expression (metaphor, hyperbole, symbolism), as well as the transmission of the city’s values through linguistic icons. The results show that city brands use language not only as information markers, but also as tools for creating emotional and cultural identity. It is also found that the success of brand communication depends on the balance between the uniqueness of linguistic elements and the ease of perception for different audiences. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the detailing of the linguo-pragmatic mechanisms of city brands in the Spanish-speaking world, in the classification of these means, and in the identification of the cultural and pragmatic implications of the linguistic design of brands.