Specificity of formation of English discourse sense system multimodality and its integrative functional analysis

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of English discourse sense space formation with the help of multi-level resources and modes, each of which offers its own options and limitations. Language means used in a certain discourse form meanings that, under the influence of pragmatic and extralinguistic factors, are transformed into broader sense. The communication process also involves various non-verbal means that enrich represented meanings, which can affect the discourse integral sense and the result of communication as a whole. Linguistic (verbal) and non-linguistic (non-verbal) means of sense representation correlate and complement each other; this leads to structuring of multimodal plane, hierarchically organized and encoding certain functional areas. The objective of the article is to study multi-level speech units and relations (links) between the constituents of English discourse that form meanings and senses from the perspective of the integrative functional paradigm. The application of this scientific methodology to the research of discourse is relevant and appropriate, since the integrative analysis helps understand how synergetic interaction and functioning of a certain set of linguistic and non-linguistic means and factors lead to a comprehensive representation of the semantic and pragmatic potential of discourse and formation of its multimodal sense space. The main research methods are integrative functional analysis and discourse analysis. The results of the study reveal the dependence of formation of a multimodal sense system on interaction of discourse language data with extralinguistic information and factors, as well as on the pragmatic potential of the discourse itself. This leads to higher-level modelling of language processes, which the integrative functional paradigm helps comprehend and characterize.