British Mass Media Research Articles

Лингвокогнитивные средства манипуляции в англоязычных медиатекстах

The aim of the paper is to identify linguocognitive technologies of manipulation that are actively used to influence the addressee in media texts of the British mass media. Scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that it determines the methods of manipulative influence on the audience used by the authors of modern media texts published in 2021. As a result, it has been proved that in order to influence the recipient in a covert fashion, the authors resort to selecting information that fits into the chosen narrative line, hiding facts that refute the author’s position, distorting reality by shifting the emphasis in the presentation of the material and changing the context. Expressive means of the language ensure such perception of the message by the recipient that is favourable for the journalist and contribute to the implementation of manipulative influence on the reader.

Nationally Orientated Communication as the Basic Function of Professional Activity in English Mass Media

This article aims to disclose the communicative essence of the English media discourse and the specificity of transmitted information which is determined by both interrelated parties (i.e. the media sources and the readers) involved in this socially valid communicative process. The English media discourse is examined in the British and American variants.The three parts of media communication comprising the author, the addressee, and the information itself are actualized in media discourse articles in a very peculiar form of their interconnection. The media orientation towards the addressee, i.e. the British and American public, leads to the articles being not only linguistically adapted, but also thematically focused on the information which is habitual and even desirable for each of the said communities. The author often acts as a moderator who stays, figuratively speaking, behind the scene, and just regulates or verbalizes the information communicated by various representatives of the nations regarded as his/her full-fledged co-authors.The article also considers the gender aspect of media communication where male and female issues bear their respective linguistic and thematic features.The emotional colouring of the transmitted information turns out to be another specific point of the English media discourse that appeals to the British and American public through the use of certain linguistic means.The authors conclude that from the national identity-related perspective English media communication may be characterized as an information field that incorporates issues of importance for both nations, renders them with the help of nationally adapted wording, and thus even forms a sort of “energy space”.

The Analysis of the COVID-19 Image Evolution in English Mass Media Discourse

Starting from January 2020, the whole world and all the people’s professional activities are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the phenomenon of COVID has been analyzed from different perspectives. The present study aims to study the evolution of the COVID-19 image in the online mass media discourse on the example of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) news portal. The research employs semantic network analysis to trace the changes in the description of the coronavirus-related articles presented online. Three samples of articles from the period from 2020 to 2022 are randomly collected and subjected to further analysis. As a result, the author concludes, that the image of the COVID pandemic has undergone a significant change from the distant public health-related phenomenon to one of the legal actors and social activities. The present study contributes to the analysis of the coronavirus pandemic domain in the online mass media discourse and diversifies the studies, employing the semantic network analysis approach.

On the Relationship between British Contemporary Art and Mass Media from the Perspective of Turner Prize

The intervention of British mass media in contemporary art turns contemporary art into a news event in Britain. Some artists and collectors with marketing strategies also use media public opinion to build personal brands, transforming cultural capital into economic capital. Turner Award is the highest award in the field of contemporary visual art in Britain, and as attractive as Oscar Award in the art world. From being unknown to today's highly authoritative art festival, the Turner Prize benefits from the extensive involvement of the media apart from the innovation of the evaluation standard. The resulting upsurge of visits and public discussions has changed the cultural impact of contemporary art on the public, promoted the prosperity of the art market, and made British contemporary art occupy a pivotal position in the world. This article attempts to take the Turner Prize as an example to analyse the relationship between mass media and contemporary art, and the positive and negative influences of mass media on British contemporary art; and to discuss how art would not fall into the trap of media and stick to its self-discipline in today's highly developed mass media.

ARTIFACT METAPHOR IN ENGLISH MASS MEDIA IN THE SPHERE OF ECONOMICS

The article examines the functioning of the artifact metaphor in English mass media in the field of economics. The source domains of metaphors are determined, the role of metaphor as an effective means of expressing and evaluating economic processes is considered, and the most common types of metaphors with the source domains “artifacts” are described.
 Purpose. The article reveals and analyses conceptual metaphors in economic articles, in particular, artifact metaphors are considered as means of manipulation.
 Methodology. The research was held using the conceptual, contextual, and descriptive methods as well as partial sampling technique. Scientific novelty is due to lack of research of artifact metaphors’ manipulative effect in economic discourse.
 Results. The results of the research show the most commonly used artifact metaphors in the English mass media and their functions in economic articles.
 Practical implications. The results of the study can be applied in special courses in cognitive linguistics, text analysis, translation study of social-political and economic texts as well as for writing theses.

How Does the Catholic Clergy Influence What Poles in the UK Know and Think about Brexit?

Religion can determine how people perceive socio-political reality, especially in a cultural context in which religious affiliation is an important part of national identity. This has a special significance in the Polish cultural context, in which Catholicism is considered the national religion, and its institutional dimension plays an important role in the Polish socio-political domain. The purpose of this study is to analyse how religion affects the socio-political attitudes of Poles abroad. This analysis focuses directly on evaluating the influence of the spiritual leaders of Polish community organisations in the UK on the knowledge and opinions of Brexit among Polish post-accession emigrants to the UK. The study was conducted on a sample of 620 Poles living in the UK (62.6% male) using a group-administered questionnaire. The study found that the Polish Catholic clergy did not play an important role in opinion-forming, i.e., in shaping what Polish emigrants to the UK know and think about Brexit. What proved to be the most powerful factor in terms of opinion-making was the British mass media. The influence of the Catholic clergy on the knowledge of—and opinions on—Brexit among Polish emigrants was only evident among elderly people who did not know English very well, and who regularly participated in religious activities.

Precedent Name as a Means of Creating Media Image in French and English Mass Media (corpus-based approach)

Precedent Name as a Means of Creating Media Image in French and English Mass Media (corpus-based approach)

Колоративные тропы в современном англоязычном массмедийном тексте

The paper aims to identify the peculiarities of using colour tropes in the modern mass media text in the English language. The scientific originality of the research lies in the fact that it considers the specificity of colour tropes functioning in the mass media text of different types (historical-cultural, economic, scientific, political, etc.), identifies the multifunctionality of colour tropes in the non-fiction text for the first time, as well as carries out an analysis of colour semantics as a component of a trope means used in the English mass media text. As a result, political and economic texts have been considered priorities in terms of colour tropes usage by journalists; the main functions of colour tropes realized in mass media texts of different focus have been viewed; the peculiarities of semantic transformation of colouratives within a trope have been analyzed and the conclusion that the colour component enhances the expressiveness and effectiveness of the trope has been made.

Медиаобраз Рамзана Кадырова в британских СМИ (на материале статей The Independent)

The paper aims to identify lexical evaluative means used to form Ramzan Kadyrov’s image in the British online newspaper “The Independent”. The author analyzes the themes and content of publications about Kadyrov, examines expressive-evaluative means forming his media image. Scientific originality of the study involves a comprehensive analysis of linguistic techniques used to create a stereotyped image of Chechen leader in readers' consciousness. The findings indicate that British mass media cultivate the image of oppressive and authoritarian Chechen ruler. Negative evaluation is expressed by use of metaphors, lexemes with negative connotation, negative clichés.

Концепт LOCKDOWN как ценность и антиценность в жизни современного британского общества

The purpose of the study is to determine the axiological status of the concept LOCKDOWN in the English linguistic culture. Scientific novelty of the work is accounted for by an attempt to reconstruct the axiosphere of the English language worldview actualised by the concept LOCKDOWN in the British mass media, which has never been made before. As a result of the study, it has been found that the concept LOCKDOWN, on the one hand, is considered in the axiosphere of the English language worldview as a value that contributes to preservation of people’s lives and is promoted by government representatives. The average British people, on the other hand, regard this concept as an anti-value accompanied by negative consequences for a person. The axiological status of the phenomenon is determined by analysing the lexical means used to describe the isolation process.

Семантические и формальные характеристики прецедентных высказываний, функционирующих в дискурсе британских СМИ

The paper aims to reveal structural-semantic characteristics of precedent statements in the modern British mass media discourse. Scientific originality of the study involves identifying structural-semantic transformations of precedent statements in the British mass media discourse. The analysis indicates that in 62% of cases, the meaning of a precedent statement is not determined by precedent context or a precedent situation. In 72% of cases, a precedent statement in the mass media discourse differs in form from the analogous statement in a precedent text. Correlation of meaning and form of a transformed precedent statement is identified.

LITERARY JOURNALISM: COMMUNICATION TACTICS OF DIFFERENT DIALOGUES IN ENGLISH CONTENT

The article spotlights the issues of the English-speaking literary journalism, as a direction of non-fiction, blending literary styles and narrative techniques, giving the exact information, while composing features, opinion articles, chronicles, travel blogs, listicles, biographies, essays, and other articles. The article tackles the communication strategies and tactics, stylistic and literary devices, applied in literature, and respectively in journalism and nonfiction by English-speaking authors. Among the smorgasbord of literary devices used in American and British literary journalism, it is vital to underline the importance of a dialogue, a strict chronological structure, some status details, and the text presentation from the third-person perspective. In the article, the dialogue is regarded in the classical meaning as communication and exchange of information or conversation in written or oral form between two or several people, as well as a literary or theatrical form that presents such exchange. The content analyses of American and British mass media, as well as their monitoring and empirical identification of active types of dialogues, transmitting from American and British literature into the literary journalism, belong to the key methods of research and further analysis. As a result of the scholarly survey, sixteen types of dialogues, leading to the better plot outlining were determined, the employment of which could diversify and improve the quality of English content made by Ukrainian students, journalists and nonfiction writers. The article characterizes and gives examples of the following types of dialogues, which are apt to the contemporary English speaking literature and non-fiction: Cryptic Conversation; Cultural Contrast; Appeal to family wisdom; Trial balloon dialogue; Blatant Lies; Con artist lies dialogue; Constant cheering; Berate and switch; Casual danger; Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squeak; Derailed Train of Thought; Sliding into Gibberish; Digging Yourself Deeper; Volleying Insults; Insult backfire; Contradiction of Arguments’ Dialogue. The strategies of cooperation, confrontation, manipulation and entertainment are singled out as the main communication strategies for the majority of determined dialogues.

Educational Problems from the Perspectiveof Crisis Discourse (Based on English Mass Media)

Educational Problems from the Perspectiveof Crisis Discourse (Based on English Mass Media)

Когнитивные механизмы конструирования имиджа растительного мяса в англоязычном медиадискурсе

This paper examines discursive representation of the concept PLANT MEAT in English mass media. The study discusses cognitive operations of categorization, conceptual integration, focus shift involved in conceptualization of a trendy meatless food product. The focus is made on nominal compounds like meatless meat and fake meat in terms of conceptual integration. The study of the relations between formally integrated linguistic structures and conceptually integrated structures supports the claim that the meanings of the compounds are not predictable from their parts. The conclusion is made that the compounds prompt for a specific complex mapping scheme and conceptual blending. Conceptual blends meatless meat and fake meat are viewed as alternative construals of the concept PLANT MEAT and as a result of focus shift mechanism in the semantic structure of the blends. Conceptual blend meatless meat highlights the property ‘absence of meat’ while conceptual blend fake meat focuses on the property ‘imitation’. The concept PLANT MEAT is a way of understanding food made from plants with the appearance similar to meat. The paper reveals pragmatic potential of the conceptual blend PLANT MEAT in shaping health and environmental benefits of a meat-free food style in media discourse.

ДИСКУРС МАССМЕДИА КАК ИННОВАЦИОННОЕ СРЕДСТВО РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИИ ОБРАЗА КИТАЯ В ЯЗЫКЕ БРИТАНСКИХ СМИ

Nowadays, mass-media discourse is a common object of study in various research works. This is connected with the fact that information and telecommunication technologies are developing at a fast pace. Mass media discourse is inseparable from society, that is, a large audience for whom information is transmitted in a simplified form.The media seeks to influence public consciousness through mass-media discourse, forming certain attitudes and values in the public mind. The aim of the study is to identify the main conceptual characteristics of China's image, as presented in the British mass media discourse. The research analyzes articles on political and economic issues about China published by the British media. By means of contextual, conceptual and semantic analysis the authors identify and describe such basic conceptual characteristics of China's image being formed in the British mass-media discourse, as China – a business partner of Great Britain, China – a threat to the global economy, China – a state with slowing down development. The first conceptual characteristic presents China as a state it is economically profitable to cooperate with. The second one, in turn, indicates that the state of its economy affects the situation in the world. As for the third characteristic, it describes China as a country with less progressive development. In addition, there is a semantic classification of the lexical units characterizing China, as well as a comparative analysis of the percentage of words and expressions used. These conceptual characteristics are expressed by such parts of speech as nounsadjectives, verbs and adverbs, as well as by verb phrases. The words and expressions used fully describe Great Britain, confirming the accuracy of the highlighted characteristics.

ТРАНСФОРМАЦИЯ ОБРАЗА-КОНЦЕПТА РОССИИ В БРИТАНСКОМ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОМ МЕДИАДИСКУРСЕ: ДИАХРОНИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ

The images of states as special mental models are created in mass media discourse with its powerful persuasive capacity. The image of one and the same state can be different. This article focuses on the mechanisms of such a change of the image of New Russia in British mass media discourse on the basis of a comparative analysis of the linguistic ways of surfacing the nucleus of the concept “Russia” and its three basic layers - metaphorical, evaluative, and etnocultural associative - in the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991-1993) and in the modern one (2013-2018). The relevance of this work is due to the growing interest of the British media in our country and the need to study the dynamics of verbalization of the conceptual, figurative, evaluative and associative components of the concept “Russia” in British media discourse over the past 30 years. The results of the study confirmed our hypothesis that two different images of New Russia were created in British political media discourse in the two periods: one in 1991-1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the other in 2013-2018 when British-Russian relations sharply escalated. In 1991, British journalists still used phrases such as former Soviet Union, Russian-Soviet state, Russian Empire to designate our state. Currently, there are such nominations as the Russian State, the Kremlin, Putin’s Russia. The metaphorical image of Russia has changed from a connotation associated with the concept of a weak, sick, newborn or defeated country to an offensive image of an enemy, a puppeteer, an active participant in military games, or aggressive animals, such as a bear, gorilla or octopus. The evaluative layer of the image-concept of Russia in the 1990s was represented by epithet utterances with some positive connotations associated with the hope of restoration and friendliness on her part. Currently, almost no positive connotations are found. The associative layer of the image-concept of Russia in the 1990s was represented in the British press by former superpower tokens opposing weak Russia to the powerful Soviet Union. Russia, as the successor to the USSR, was associated with the empire, with the green color of rebirth, with the East and mystery. However, objective journalists are sure that Russia is not an enemy, that cooperation between the two countries is mutually beneficial, given the positive historical experience of the interaction of the two great cultures. The analysis scheme proposed in the article can be used to study the transformation of images of other states. The article can be used in training courses for linguists, journalists and politicians.

The nominative space of neologisms in contemporary English mass media

The nominative space of neologisms in contemporary English mass media

СОЦІАЛЬНО-ПОЛІТИЧНИЙ ДИСКУРС У КОНТЕКСТІ ВИКЛАДАННЯ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ

The article considers some aspects of the use of social and political discourse in teaching English. In the article, social and political discourse means all the messages that are related to social and political issues. The new trends of modern media development are considered. Some aspects of use of mass media in education have been considered. In particular, special attention has been paid to the main peculiarities of mass media as a source of educational content. The didactic potential of newspapers, radio, television and the Internet have been shown. It has been demonstrated that the use of politically charged lexicon (not only politically correct words and expressions but also pejorative once) broadens students` outlook and trains them to work in different social and political conditions. For example, euphemisms should be used in the modern political communication in order to avoid conflicts. It has been proved that newspaper texts can help us study history of the countries of the languages being learnt. The difference between the quality press and tabloids has been explained. A table of headlines is given to illustrate historical events in the USA and the world. The activity of English mass media in facilitating English learning has been considered. It has been demonstrated that some materials issued by the BBC are aimed at familiarizing the audience with the English language. E.g., the English Express project contains video materials and some brief data about the English grammar as well as tests. The author has emphasized that media often contain wrong, biased or fake information. Fake news is considered as a threat to the stability of communication. It is shown that the students should try to verify all the messages they use in their activities. All types of communication on the Internet and wherever else should meet both legislation and ethical principles. Special attention is paid to blogs as alternative sources of information. The authors of blogs express different opinions and they do not have to follow any editorial lines. It has been shown that working with webpages increases the level of media literacy of the students. Special attention is paid to the sources created intentionally for language exchange, e.g. Interpals and Duolingo. It is underlined that the students should not only perceive but also create media content. The use of Facebook, Youtube, Wikipedia, Livejournal etc. can facilitate the publication of the students` achievements. The author has paid attention to activities that can be done using media materials, e.g. project work, simulations and others.

LINGUO-PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF COLLOQUIAL EXPRESSIONS IN ENGLISH PROFESSIONAL DISCOURSE IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL CIVILIZATION DEVELOPMENT

Statement of the problem. In this paper, based on articles from professional rubrics in English mass-media, colloquialisms are analyzed from the point of view of linguopragmatics within the lexico-semantic field, since colloquialisms are mainly kept up at the lexical level. The article considers linguistic and extralinguistic features of colloquial verbs designed to have an emotional impact on the reader in the context of the development of digital civilization and the formation of clip thinking. Results. The article reveals the content of the linguopragmatics concept as the main approach to the study. The concepts of digital civilization and colloquial expressions are also analyzed, and their interrelationship is revealed. The concept of a lexical-semantic field is considered, since colloquialisms are actualized mainly at the lexical level. The lexico-semantic field “to spend money” is analyzed, and the types of semantic connections between its elements are determined. Linguistic and extralinguistic means used for emotional impact on the recipient are revealed. The most common are metaphor at the lexical level and narrative sentences at the syntactic level, followed by phrasal verbs at the lexical level. Quotation marks and bold font with underlining are the least frequent on the graphic level, as well as irony on the semantic level. Conclusion. The use of colloquialisms is conditioned by the need to attract the attention of readers, most of whom are currently characterized by clip thinking. Within the framework of linguopragmatics, the impact on the recipient is achieved by means of various linguistic levels: quotation marks, bold font with underlining, metaphor, phrasal verbs, narrative sentences, irony. Colloquialisms perform an emotional and expressive function due to their metaphorical nature.

The image-concept of Russia in the British mass media texts (2017-2019)

The subject of this article are the linguistic means used to form the image-concept “Russia”. Corpus content analysis on the wide range material of the British print and electronic press for 2017-2019 is the base for constructing the nominative field with the core and near, far and final peripheries of image ”Russia”. The conceptual analysis revealed verbal means used for expansion of the concept volume and its component layers- metaphorical, nominative, evaluative and associative. These devices create the negative image-concept of state Russia in British public consciousness.