English-language Discourse Research Articles

Linguistic pecularities of the concept “pandemic” in the english-language newspaper discourse (based on medical articles)

This article examines the lexical means of verbal representation of the concept Pandemic on the basis of English-language newspaper medical articles. The relevance of the article lies in the subject itself the pandemic, which appeared in late 2019 and early 2020 and continues to these days. This phenomenon is of interest for linguistic research, since important social phenomena are always reflected in the language and speech of both an individual country and the whole of humanity. The coronavirus pandemic has become just such a phenomenon. The purpose of our work is to establish verbalization units of the concept Pandemic in English-language newspaper articles on coronavirus topics that are devoted to medicine. To achieve this goal, the following research methods were used in our study: collection and analysis of the receiving information, the method of definitional analysis, the method of continuous sampling, descriptive method, statistical method, and also elements of conceptual analysis. In the theoretical part of our article, we consider the most important terms that are important for further understanding of the content: the newspaper kind of journalistic discourse and the concept. In the practical part, the research itself is presented: highlighting the concept of Pandemic, giving definitions of the meaning of this concept, selecting and describing frames of the concept of Pandemic from newspaper articles, conducting statistical analysis and summarizing the results of the research done. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that linguistic works on the studied aspect of the concept Pandemic have not been previously presented in scientific publications. The practical significance of this article lies in the fact that its materials and conclusions can be used in the further study of the verbalization of the concept Pandemic in other spheres of public life. The article is an attempt to describe the means of linguistic verbalization of the concept under study.

Linguo-Axiological Speech-Genre Model and Its Actualization in English Drama Discourse

The linguo-axiological specificity of the English-language dramatic discourse is revealed through the prism of the speechgenre organization of the dialogue. The relevance of the work is due to the appeal to the problems of discursive-communicative linguoaxiology as a scientific direction, which is at the stage of formation of an independent research platform. The reasons for the linguo-axiological loading of the dramatic discourse are revealed, and the author's development of a linguo-axiological model of speech genres implemented within the limits of the British and American dramaturgical dialogue of the 20th and 21st centuries is proposed. The author dwells on five systemic parameters that form the linguo-axiological speech-genre model and substantiates the variants of their communicative manifestation. A sample of the matrix actualization of the proposed model is demonstrated on the example of a specific speech genre “small talk” when it is included in the format of a stylized dialogic interaction. The results of a comparative linguo-axiological analysis of textual realizations of the indicated speech genre are presented on the basis of four spatio-temporal fragments of the English dramatic discourse. The novelty of the study is seen in the fact that for the first time it applied the provisions of the theory of speech genres in the linguo-axiological interpretation of a stylized dialogue. It is concluded that the developed linguo-axiological model provides an opportunity to trace both the poly-aspect dynamics of the linguo-axiological indicators of the speech genre along the time axis, and its nationally marked specificity when updated within the dramaturgical dialogue.

Some Aspects of Online Discourse Manipulation on Social Media (the case of Instagram English Presentational Discourse of Pfizer Inc.)

The research is devoted to the analysis of the tools used in the presentation discourse of social networks of large commercial companies and organizations. The purpose of the article is to analyze genre and lexical features of the English-language online presentation discourse of the Instagram social network for manipulating the target audience. The English-language texts of Pfizer’s publications on the company’s official pages on the social network Instagram were taken as material for the analysis. The study uses the method of targeted sampling of material, the method of contextual description and descriptive method to identify and analyze priority ways of positive self-presentation of corporations. The results of the analysis of linguistic and paralinguistic tools used by Pfizer representatives on Instagram to manipulate the target audience revealed significant advantages of simultaneous use of verbal and nonverbal components to enhance the pragmatic effect of influencing the recipient through the use of creolized text in online communication. The complex nature of the hyper-genre of the virtual discourse of the Internet (hypertext, interactivity) is noted, contributing to the generation of genres and subgenres that function non-linearly in the social network. The English-language content published by Pfizer on Instagram is defined by the authors as repetitive (the image, video and audio sequence repeat the verbal text), excretory (visual material actualizes a certain aspect), integrative (the picture complements the text in the interests), pictorial-centric (the image occupies the main position). The importance of using a new type of communicative influence on the recipient without openly imposing goods and services, which occupies a leading position mainly in the discourse of Pfizer’s social networks, is emphasized. Based on the study, a number of manipulative language tactics and lexico-stylistic techniques most characteristic of the English-language presentation discourse of the social network Instagram have been identified. The importance of the wide use of the possibility of presentation discourse of social networks is actualized, which allows representatives of companies to build trusting friendly relations with the clientele and form a special value system of interpersonal interaction with the target audience through the exploitation of the possibilities of multi-level communication of the Instagram network: personal/ institutionalized (organizational); verbal/ nonverbal.

Лингвистические особенности текстов гейм-инструкций

Modern computer games are gaining popularity in the cultural space. Due to them new modern types of discourse are appeared. The growing role of computer games in various aspects of modern life, the rapid process of complicating their technical parameters gives rise to a parallel process of improving and complicating the texts of game manuals that allow gamers to follow the most effective tactics of the game. The authors of the article, in a comparative manner, analyse foreign and domestic research correlated with the linguistic features of games, game slang, manuals as examples of prescriptive text and their specific features. The texts of game manuals are an important component of game discourse, their special functional specificity and the nature of the addressee predetermine a number of specific linguistic characteristics, which are still a poorly studied. The authors consider the linguistic characteristics of texts at various linguistic levels in their relationship with the informative elements of manuals that correspond to the most important elements of the game. The authors analyse the pragmalinguistic elements of the manuals. They describe stylistic and grammatical features of the developers’ appeal to the prospective players, try to trace the logic of the use of certain linguistic means in the context of the game manuals. The authors analyze game instructions in English and Spanish, which is based on fact that English has been and still remains the main language in which original game manuals are published. Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages ​​on a global scale. Some language similarities and differences of manuals in Spanish and English are analysed. Specific characteristics of manuals regarding the use of techniques that are non-standard for this type of text, ensuring the maximum approximation to the social status and age of consumers are described. In addition, the authors provide examples of English-language game discourse penetration into the Spanish-language game discourse.

Коммуникативные особенности англоязычного судебного дискурса

This article is devoted to the study of the communicative features of the English-language judicial discourse on the example of introductory statements of court speakers during court sessions. The relevance of this research is due to the need to expand knowledge in the field of judicial discourse, a deeper analysis of the functioning of language tools that contribute to the optimization of communicative interaction based on mutual understanding of the parties involved in the discourse. This work is aimed at studying, identifying and analyzing the linguistic specifics of the expression of the position of lawyers, reflecting knowledge, opinions, assessments regarding the presented facts, considered within the epistemic modality. It is revealed that a characteristic feature of the linguistic expression of the speaker’s degree of confidence in the truth of judgments in the type of discourse under study is the self-positioning of the addressees using first-person pronouns; epistemic markers emphasizing the subjectivity of statements, personal opinions, assessments, relationships; intensifiers that strengthen the approved position of the addressees, and hedging language tools represented by markers of implicitness, uncertainty, hidden communicative impact on the addressee. It is established that the most frequent linguistic means in the type of discourse under study, contributing to the demonstration of the validity of judgments, emphasizing the subjectivity of the expressed opinion, assessment, position, commitment of the speaker in relation to the utterance, are first-person pronouns. Informing the addressee using epistemic markers in the opening speech of lawyers, combining the identified linguistic means in one discursive segment, marks the speaker’s involvement in the discursive event, interest in the facts presented, contributes to the effective presentation of information, maintaining contact with the addressee during court sessions, achieving communicative goals in the professional community.

Discursive-Pragmatic Creativity in English-Language Chinese Mass Media

The issue of linguistic creativity in Chinese mass media sources published in English is considered. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the English-language discourse of the Chinese mass media is studied as an independent culturally conditioned speech activity phenomenon that actualizes the cultural values of China and the civilizational values of the East. It is substantiated that linguistic creativity is realized in English texts through various forms of manifestation of Chinese national communicative identity: proverbs, allegories, analogies, hints, allusions, rooted in Chinese history, philosophy and folk experience. The updated concepts of proverbs emphasize the values of constant evolutionary movement on the principle of “movement in the still” and the values of collectivism, which are significant both in the country itself and in the region and the world. The collectivism peculiar to China determined the accentuation of the anti-value concepts of hegemony, shame, slander and humiliation. It has been proved that linguistic creativity in the Chinese media in English is also expressed in wordplay and word creation, if this contributes to a more effective presentation of China's position to the English-speaking audience and does not violate the principle of appropriateness. It has been established that in the Chinese English-language mass media, linguistic creativity is of a discursive-pragmatic nature, allows copying samples of linguistic creativity from English-language media and is supplemented with new associations and meanings in their own cultural context.

Pragmatic Metaphorisation of Nature Silence Effect in Poetic Discourse

associated with verbal and non-verbal communication. The purpose of the article is to study the discursive and communicative-pragmatic nature of poetical images of silence in the English-language literary discourse. The universal and cultural functions of this notion were analysed and the main approaches to the poetical silence study were determined. It became clear that the phenomenon of Nature Silence can be actualised with the help of Nature and other landscape images in the field of English literary discourse. Such images must belong to the paradigm of English landscape images represented by Earthy, Aerial and Celestial substantial nature symbols. In terms of discourse-communicative approach to the study of communicative silence, these elements play an important role of the main producers of Nature Silence. This work proposes the new pragmatic and communicative approach of understanding the Nature silence in English literary discourse. The main verbal units that can actualise the poetical image of silence are characterised by the permanent correlation with the different symbols of nature, showing the dominant and peripheral characteristics. Being the pragmatic realisation of silence image, motives of Nature Silence may be considered both as dominant and background.

Structural, Semantic and Linguocultural Parameters of Concept Sphere of FASHION INDUSTRY (Modern English Discourse)

This author’s development of the concept sphere model of FASHION INDUSTRY is presented in the article. Lexical units, nominations of objects, subjects and events of the fashion industry, as well as text fragments obtained from modern English-language artistic discourse, media and blogosphere are used as empirical material. The relevance of the study is due to the high rate of transformation of this conceptual field under the influence of a number of extralinguistic factors that make certain changes in the lexical composition of the language, the value dominants of society and the mechanisms of their verbalization. It is shown in the paper that the structure of the concept sphere is anthropocentric, as it is organized around the concept PARTICIPANTS. This concept is not only interconnected with other components of the FASHION INDUSTRY cognitive space — OBJECTS, EVENTS and PROPERTIES — but also determines their semantic content and linguistic and cultural specificity. Particular attention is paid to the actualization of the PROPERTIES component incorporated into other concepts. Cognitive modeling of the structural and content parameters of the concept sphere made it possible to determine the most highlighted value dominants in the current discourse: innovation, comfort, universality, democracy, mediation with the transition to digital format, economic feasibility and environmental friendliness.

THE FORMAL AND PROPOSITIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DISCOURSE AS THE INDEX OF DIRECT LINK BETWEEN THINKING AND LANGUAGE

The purpose of this article is to discover the essence of a human’s process of thinking in its close connection with the formal elements of the English-language discourse hierarchy. This paper aims to determine the basic propositional codes recreating a human’s thought. The main prior discourse code is the explicit algorithmic Proposition. Based on the deduced generalized “atomic” Subjects/Predicate Patterns the present study has come to the conclusion that the actual minimum code is the Predicate Pattern – so-called Infinitivization going back to the Infinitive construction, which corresponds to the Combination of Words as an implicit Proposition. It may be transformed into an explicit Proposition owing to the “atomic” Subjects in a human’s consciousness.

ТРАНСКУЛЬТУРНЫЙ СИМВОЛ ГОЛУБОГО ЦВЕТКА В АНГЛОЯЗЫЧНОМ ДИСКУРСЕ. ОБРАЗ ГОЛУБОГО ЦВЕТКА КАК КУЛЬТУРНЫЙ ПАЛИМПСЕСТ

The article attempts to analyze the image of the blue flower in the English-language discourse as a transcultural symbol with its own semantics in the English-speaking tradition and at the same time having a stable connection with German literature (Novalis’s novel “Heinrich von Ofterdingen”). Since the image of a blue flower has a pronounced colorativ, it is impossible to deny the influence of the semantics of the lexeme “blue” on it. Consequently, an appeal to phraseological units that have such a lexeme allows revealing the peculiarities of the perception of the transcultural symbol of the blue flower in the English-speaking environment. Analysis of publicistic and literary sources created before the translation of the novel “Heinrich von Ofterdingen” into English shows that the image of the blue flower had previously appeared in English literature. Thanks to the studied works, one can understand what additional connotations the image acquires, why in the English-language discourse the blue flower appears to be an otherworldly phenomenon, and its appearance symbolizes the nearness of death or a journey to distant worlds. This becomes a feature of its perception in the English-speaking environment. The works of the late 20th – early 21st century cited as examples let us talk about it as of a transcultural phenomenon.

Specifics of the Phenomenon of Communicative Programming and Its Implementation on Different Levels of English Language Discourse

Specifics of the Phenomenon of Communicative Programming and Its Implementation on Different Levels of English Language Discourse

WAYS OF GENERATING NEOLOGISMS IN MODERN ENGLISH

The article considers the problem of language development, in particular its lexical layer. The rapid development of all areas of modern human life is reflected in the language, the evolution of lexis is not just a change in the vocabulary. The authors study the modern paradigms of neology in terms of a functional approach to language, analyze the factors of the appearance of new words and correlate them with the pragmatic needs of society as a whole and of different social groups in particular. The article presents the pricipal nominative types and models of English-language neologisms over the past decades. Some factors contributing to the replenishment of the English lexical layer regarding the sociolinguistic aspect are given. Social spheres significantly influence the appearance of new words because they shape a person's attitude to the realities of the linguistic picture of the world. The relevance of this research is determined by the insufficient study of the processes of lexical formation, in particular neological units, which are intensively occurring at the current stage of society globalization and require an analysis of the ways of formation and definition of critical concepts that cause the need for the functioning of innovative non-standard, both structurally and semantically, lexical units in the modern English language, in particular their systematization and classification. The scientific novelty of the study consists in developing the theory of neology through the classification of borrowings as a particular group of neologisms, systemizing means of their penetration, and adaptation in the modern English language. The goal of the research is to study the sociolinguistic role of neologisms in the modern English language, to determine their functional and semantic features and ways of speech adaptation, of neologisms-borrowings in particular. The research methodology is based on the functional-semantic approach and is complex in nature using structural-semantic and sociolinguistic analyses, allowing to identify the most successful and popular universal methods and techniques for creating neologisms; the study also relies on the principles of systematization and classification, which helps to organize empirical material and contributes to a more thorough study of the process of neologization of English-language discourse as the basis of interlanguage communication in the world today.

СОЦИАЛЬНО-КОММУНИКАТИВНАЯ СРЕДА АНГЛОФОННОГО СООБЩЕСТВА В ОТРАЖЕНИИ СОВРЕМЕННОГО АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА

The article is devoted to the changes occurring in the social and communicative environment of the modern English-speaking community that are caused by the phenomena of the extralinguistic plan and are verbalized through neologisms of the English language. As a research material, the new vocabulary is used, which is gradually entering the English-language discourse and is not currently recorded in the English monolingual explanatory or encyclopedic dictionaries. The cases of the emergence of new vocabulary in the zone of integration of social and communicative spheres are investigated. Sociopragmatic factors of the English language development are revealed. The socio-communicative spheres serving as «donors» of the modern English language are determined.

СПОСОБИ ВІДТВОРЕННЯ ЛІНГВОКУЛЬТУРНИХ ОСОБЛИВОСТЕЙ АНГЛОМОВНИХ ПОЛІТИЧНИХ ПРОМОВ УКРАЇНСЬКОЮ МОВОЮ

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the ways of reproducing the linguistic and cultural features of English-language political speeches in the Ukrainian language. The relevance of the work is due to the small number of works in the study of the reproduction of linguistic and cultural features of the Ukrainian language of English-language political speeches and texts, as well as the reproduction of its contextual meanings, taking into account the stylistic characteristics of the text. The aim of the study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the linguistic and cultural factors of the English-language political discourse, to identify ways of transmitting linguocultural labeled units in Ukrainian translation based on the material of political speeches of political leaders of the United States and Great Britain. According to the results of the study, it was revealed that in order to achieve the adequacy of the translator, it is necessary to use numerous translation transformations, since the interpreter tries to convey the idea presented in the original language, preserving its original meaning and form. But that such a translation is not always possible, because the systems of English and Ukrainian languages differ in some aspects, so the interpreter must find alternative ways to transmit the text. The most common transformation among those mentioned above is calque, because the terms and expressions adopted by politicians in the texts of their speeches have dictionary correspondences in the translation language and do not make difficulties in choosing an equivalent. Transcoding and replacement of parts of speech that help to achieve the adequacy of translation are also quite common. The subject of the study is the ways of reproducing the linguistic and cultural features of English-language political speeches in Ukrainian. During the analysis, we determined that in the process of translation, the interpreter himself must have «cultural competence», in order to identify the specifics of culture in the text. The success of translation as a linguocultural translation largely depends on the understanding of the meanings implicitly expressed in the text based on cultural values; the ability to choose the right linguistic means to convey a message in order to achieve the influence of translation, equivalent to the impact of the original.

Post-Editing as the Means to Activate Students’ Thinking and Analytical Process: Psycholinguistic Aspects

The aim of the research is looking for the ways to intensify the future translators’ analytical and thinking activity during their independent work in online teaching. The author strives to achieve it through the combination of post-editing machine-translated texts and the Think-aloud protocol procedure. It is also assumed that this combination reduces the students’ dependence on the MT target text structure, as well as improves their competence in translating specialized texts.
 The methodology of research involved experimental post-editing-based online teaching (28 contact hours and 92 hours of independent work) of an elective university course ‘Specifics of translating English-language discourse in the domain of Psychology’ to the first-year MA students (majoring in English and Translation) whose command of English ranged from C1 to C2 levels in the CEFR classification. The parameters of analysis included the percentage of the students’ uploaded home tasks, the degree of the subjects’ post-editing intensity in their weekly homework, the students’ independence in the interim and final tests, as well as the marks in the Final test. 
 The results of the analysis demonstrated a substantial difference between various groups of the subjects by all indicators. The amount of home tasks uploaded by the subjects in groups A and B (with more intensive analytical and thinking activity) exceeds the similar parameter in groups C and D (with less intensive activity) more than twofold. There is a considerable advantage of the groups A and B (and even C) subjects’ post-editing intensity in their weekly homework as compared to group D. The intensity of the students’ analytical and thinking activity decreased from the highest (group A) to moderately high (group B) to average (group C) and to low (group D). The degree of the students’ independence in the interim and final tests decreased from 85.0% (group A) to 35.0% in group D, with the remaining groups’ indicators in between – 59.0% (group B) and 46.0% (group C). These indicators clearly correlate with the average marks in the final test, which amounted to 93.80, 63 and 53 points (out of 100) in groups А, В, C and D respectively. 
 Conclusions. Post-editing, in combination with the modified TAP procedure, contributes to the efficient development of the specialized texts translation competence due to the intensification of the students’ analytical and thinking activity, reduces their dependence on the MT target text structure and correlates with the improvement of the overall quality of their translation.

Панч как лингвокультурный типаж в британской культуре

The aim of the study is to identify the conceptual, figurative and value dominants of the linguocultural character type Punch (Petrushka) in the English-language discourse. The scientific originality lies in the fact that for the first time the significance of the Punch character type (Petrushka) for the British linguistic culture was revealed, the seme composition (content) was determined, the connections of the studied character type were clarified, the signs of figurative and value characteristics were established. As a result, the linguocultural character type is considered as professional, the socio-historical prerequisites for the emergence of the character type are revealed, the external appearance and sphere of activity, the dynamics of value characteristics, the features of speech behaviour of the specified character type are described, the precedence, associativity, recurrence and symbolism of the linguocultural character type Punch (Petrushka) are noted.

The concept of "pandemic" in modern English-language political discourse

Real-life is closely linked to speech. How and what we communicate often speaks both about ourselves and about the conditions in which we find ourselves. The same applies to the situation around the coronavirus pandemic. One way or another, it influenced the way and the subject we talk about. In this article, we consider the measurement of speech changes under the influence of a pandemic on the example of the political discourse of English-speaking countries. Our goal was to find out how the coronavirus influenced political discourse and what specific examples can be used to demonstrate this. To carry out research, we used general and special scientific methods, in particular, content analysis, linguistic analysis. Among the sources, we have studied are scientific articles on the research topic, as well as materials of publications of the world's leading media on the research topic. As a result of this work, we concluded that the political discourse reflects the situation around the coronavirus in terms of the speaker and the goals he sets for himself. At the same time, for professional politicians, the pandemic has become a platform for a power struggle, so some of them openly manipulate information. One of the interesting areas of research is the means of communication in a crisis, in particular, the use of Internet memes to demonstrate their political position. This, as well as coronaviral neologisms, need further study.

Переводческий дискурс 4.0: разнообразие форматов, жанров и трендов

The article considers the specific character of modern translation discourse, trends and opportunities of realization in the era of changes and global challenges. The relevance of the article is determined by the need to establish common and distinctive forms of expression and formats of translation discourse. The representative sources of three communicatively active discursive practices constitute the empirical base of the paper: scientific / translation studies translation discourse; professional / industry translation discourse; didactic translation discourse. The textual material of the discourse under consideration is analyzed in order to identify thematic dominants of three subtypes under consideration. The similarities and differences of the topics discussed by the translation community within the framework of the selected discursive practices are determined. Sources of translation discourse in Russian and German linguistic cultures were also involved in the analysis to identify common and distinctive features. The analysis revealed the tendency of the Russian-language translation discourse to be a more profound scientific search and substantiation of translation problems, and, on the contrary, the tendency of the German- and English-language discourses to discuss applied issues. The analyzed subtypes of translation discourse reveal certain unifying features: current challenges reaction rapidity, new phenomena and trends in society. However, these subtypes have translation tools of their own, traditions and formats that shape thematic dominants of each direction of the discourse. Thus, the paper revealed the dynamic nature of the discourse, on the one hand, and its sustainable development, on the other.

Contradictory Representations of the Child Figure in the Media: JonBenét Ramsey Murder Case Retellings on YouTube

Even over 20 years after her death, JonBenét Ramsey remains the most recognizable child murder victim in recent American history, with her case being especially notorious for its sensational and elaborate media coverage. In this article, I take a look at an Internet community which—through the means of YouTube remixes—attempts to oppose the narratives popularized in the mainstream media, using the Ramsey case to offer counter-representations of the concepts of family, childhood, and girlhood. I also attempt to show that the outcome of this online activism does not correspond fully with the intent, as the videos in question often come close to complicity with the narratives which their authors try to subvert. This observation adds credence to the claim that cultural representations of children and childhood in contemporary English-language discourse at large feature a seemingly irreconcilable combination of sentimental innocence and disquieting eroticism.

The internationality of published higher education scholarship: How do the ‘top’ journals compare?

• We compare the internationality of Q1 and Q4 higher education journals. • We find that ‘international’ journals may be more concentrated in regions. • Journals with diverse editorial boards have more internationally inclusive content. • Q4 journals are more likely to include research/ers from outside the ‘core’. • Q4 journals facilitate the inclusion and visibility of under-represented contexts. With the trend toward internationalization of higher education systems across the world, international journals play an important role in disseminating research from a diverse range of national contexts. While studies have continued to show a persistent western hegemony in published scholarship, research has largely focused on the most prestigious journals in the field, and it remains unclear how journals from beyond the most elite contribute to geographic diversity. This study makes a unique contribution to the existing knowledge body, through comparative analysis of the internationality (as a product of editorial boards, published authors, authorship compositions, and study contexts) of higher education journals in both the highest quartile of impact (Q1) and the lowest quartile of impact (Q4). The results show that while some journals may orient themselves as international in scope, in practice they may be more concentrated in particular regions. Although Q-ranking was not found to be a clear indicator of geographic diversity, Q4 journals are statistically more likely to include research and researchers from outside of the core anglophone countries, making an important contribution to the diversity of scholarship beyond the dominating western and English-language discourse.