Contrastive lexicology 7. Mass media language: functions and interpretation

1. Contrastive Lexicology 7

CONTRASTIVE
LEXICOLOGY 7
MASS MEDIA LANGUAGE: FUNCTIONS AND
INTERPRETATION

2. The functional style of journalism

THE FUNCTIONAL STYLE OF
JOURNALISM
• The functional style of journalism
(публицистический стиль) differentiated
according to the function of impact (функция
воздействия), covers a diversity of language
phenomena which, on the one hand, reveal
features of the belles-lettres style
(беллетристический стиль), while on the other –
convey informational content (функция
сообщения).
• In other words, journalism draws on a wide range of
communicative and stylistic resources specific to
different genres and registers.

3. The functions of persuasion and appeal

THE FUNCTIONS OF PERSUASION AND
APPEAL
• Newspaper essays, feature articles, reportage,
editorials as well as news and opinion sections share
the communicative purpose of persuasion
(функция убеждения) and the function of
rhetorical appeal (функция побуждения) directed
at the reader.
• It is believed that readers’ views are confirmed by
the newspaper they read, rather than altered by it.
People tend to buy a paper that they know will
agree with their views.

4. Expressivity and evaluation

EXPRESSIVITY AND EVALUATION
• There is always an evaluation value judgement (explicit or
implicit) that is accompanying the unfolding of the main content
– the information or ‘news’ aspect of a newspaper article.
• Expressivity is an obligatory qualifying feature of journalism.
Without it, a newspaper text would have lost its very purpose –
the communicative intent behind the story.
• The style of journalism can be defined as a combination of
“standard usage and expressive elements”.
• «Использование лексических средств языка в
публицистическом тексте подчиняется конструктивному
принципу сочетания стандарта и экспрессии: модель
газетного текста «раскрывается как обязательное и
прямолинейно-постоянное соотнесение
стандартизированных и экспрессивных сегментов речевой
цепи, их чередование и контрастирование».
• (Д. С. Мухортов «Значение слова в тисках речи», М., 2014, с. 97-98; В. Г.
Костомаров «Русский язык на газетной полосе», М., 1971, с. 57)

5. The notion of dramatic style

THE NOTION OF DRAMATIC STYLE
• The communicative purpose behind the style of journalism has a direct
bearing on the way words are used and combined in speech.
• Since additional or peripheral features of the referent are not covered by
the word’s denotative meaning, it is opposed to the expressivesynonymic one focusing on the connotative or emotional-evaluative
semantic component.
• Thus, pairs such as ‘attempt’ / ‘bid’, ‘disagreement’ / ‘row’;
‘investigation’ / ‘probe’, ‘explosion’ / ‘blast’, ‘situation’ / ‘drama’ or
‘бессмысленность’ / ‘ахинея’, ‘ноша’ / ‘бремя’, ‘расплата’ /
‘возмездие’, etc. make us think of words for which there are stylistically
neutral parallels in language vocabulary.
• Besides neutral nominative items, there exist expressive synonyms that
contribute to the rhetoric of the utterance by making its style more
‘dramatic’: «слова с такими значениями существуют в языке
самостоятельно и отражены в словарях, однако воспринимаются в
сознании носителей языка по ассоциации с их номинативными
синонимами»
(М. И. Фомина «Современный русский язык. Лексикология», М., 2001, с. 42).

6. The expressive-synonymic meaning

THE EXPRESSIVE-SYNONYMIC
MEANING
• This kind of meaning is expressed not only through
the word’s reference to the object it denotes, but,
first and foremost, though its relation to other items
in a synonymic set.
• Rather often expressive synonyms are contrasted
with the most neutral or common word (s), which
comes first in a row of synonyms (the unique
beginner).
• For example, ‘naïve’, ‘trusting’ // ‘gullible’

7. The word’s stylistic characteristics

THE WORD’S STYLISTIC
CHARACTERISTICS
• In stylistic differentiation, we mostly deal with ‘neutral’ words
(нейтральная лексика), which are stylistically unmarked to be
equally applicable in a variety of genres, registers, and functional
styles. Such items belong to the core of language vocabulary.
• By contrast, some words tend to be used in informal situations
and belong to the spoken mode (обиходно-разговорная
лексика) or are characteristic of written language, literary
bookish or poetic style (книжная и поэтическая лексика).
• Stylistic dimensions can be demonstrated by sets of synonyms,
such as ‘kill’ (neutral), ‘slay’ (literary), ‘finish off’ (colloquial);
‘journey’ (neutral), ‘odyssey’ (literary); ‘evening’ (neutral),
‘eventide’ (poetic); ‘dusk’ (neutral), ‘gloaming’ (literary).
• Similarly in Russian we distinguish between ‘увлечение’
(нейтральное) / ‘конек’ (разговорное); ‘клевета’
(нейтральное) / ‘поклеп’ (разговорное) / ‘навет’
(устаревшее).

8. Register features

REGISTER FEATURES
• As for the word’s register features, they are defined with
reference to a given speech-situation. Our messages are
worded differently depending on the immediate social
context.
• The relationship between the speaker and the listener in terms
of age-difference, social status, degrees of intimacy is
associated with levels of style such as ‘formal’ or ‘informal’.
Another relevant feature is the distinction between written
and spoken modes in terms of characteristic vocabulary.
• Thus, “русские оболтус, паршивец, трескать относятся к
фамильярному регистру; авоська, подкачать (в смысле
‘подвести кого-нибудь’), подвыпивший – к
непринужденному; прибыть, отчислить, очередной,
бракосочетание – к формальному; стезя, вкусить,
лицезреть – к возвышенному” (Бархударов, 2007: 111).

9. Stylistic values in dictionaries

STYLISTIC VALUES IN DICTIONARIES
• In dictionaries, we find a paradigmatic description of
synonyms aimed at specifying their features of ‘difference’
rather than those of ‘sameness’.
• In The Dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian Language by Z. E.
Alexandrova, we find both stylistic markers ( colloquial, literary,
poetic, old use, etc.) and supporting minimal contexts limiting
the use of lexical items to a given particular area or situation:
• «мошенник – плут, аферист, прохвост, жулик, любитель
ловить рыбу в мутной воде (разговорное)»;
• «интересный – представляющий интерес, достойный
внимания, любопытный, достопримечательный (книжное),
занятный (разговорное)»;
• «интриговать – плести интриги, каверзничать, мутить воду
(разговорное)».

10. Cognitive synonyms

COGNITIVE SYNONYMS
• Synonyms which differ in respect of the varieties of discourse in
which they appear can be defined as cognitive synonyms
(Cruse, 1995: 284).
• The distinction between such items lies not so much in their
inner lexical meaning, but in the sphere of their actual
application or usage. In the Russian tradition we also come
across the term ‘функционально-стилистические’ or
‘стилевые синонимы’ which enter into functional-stylistic
paradigms.
• Thus, according to М. И. Фомина, «межстилевому слову
беспристрастный синонимичны и межстилевое
объективный и употребляемое преимущественно в
книжных стилях нелицеприятный; с межстилевым
возбуждаться, волноваться синонимируются слова
разговорного стиля будоражиться, взбудораживаться,
взвинчиваться и др.» (Фомина, 2001: 108).

11. “This will be difficult to beat” (by Kate Muir, The times, January 16 2015). A discourse Analysis of the functions

“THIS WILL BE DIFFICULT TO BEAT” (BY KATE MUIR,
THE TIMES, JANUARY 16 2015). A DISCOURSE
ANALYSIS OF THE FUNCTIONS
• The informative function – the title of the film,
the names of the director and the main
characters, “the film has been nominated
for a Best Picture Oscar”, “Whiplash is
directed by 29-year-old Damien Chazelle
and is extraordinarily accomplished for a
second film”, “Whiplash is entirely about jazz
drumrolls and the battle of wills between
two men over how, precisely, they should be
played”, etc.

12. The persuasive function (the function of appeal)

THE PERSUASIVE FUNCTION (THE
FUNCTION OF APPEAL)
• The persuasive function (the function of appeal) is
directed at the audience. The communicative purpose
of the utterance is to engage the interest of the reader,
so that he or she is intrigued or ‘hooked’, to urge them
to watch the film:
• “I suggest you take a defibrillator to Whiplash, since the
chances of a heart attack or spontaneous combustion
are high”.
• A hyperbole is used here to evoke an emotional
reaction from the reader as well as to express
intensification. There is, however, no irony because the
author means that, it is the author’s true attitude to the
film.

13. The expressive-emotive function

THE EXPRESSIVE-EMOTIVE FUNCTION
• Expressive synonyms are apparently privileged in
persuasive writing:
• 1) ‘whipped up’ – “…keeps you whipped up with
excitement”;
• 2) ‘exploding’ – “the indie film has become a
phenomenon exploding from a debut…”;
• 3) ‘raw meat’- “Fletcher’s raw meat arrives in the form of
19-year-old percussion student…”;
• 4) ‘terrific’ – “…in this taut, terrific film”;
• 5)’the battle of wills’ – “Whiplash is entirely about jazz
drumrolls and the battle of wills between two men over
how, precisely, they should be played”.

14. Expressive synonyms vs. neutral key-words

EXPRESSIVE SYNONYMS VS. NEUTRAL
KEY-WORDS
Expressive synonym
Neutral key-word
Meaning
whip up
incite, excite
to make people feel or
react strongly
explode
set off, burst forth
to burst forth violently or
emotionally, especially
with noise, laughter,
violent speech, etc:
He exploded with rage
when contradicted.
raw meat
unskilled staff
staff or personnel to be
trained
terrific
incredible
extraordinary
The battle of wills
competition,
argument, or struggle
a situation that involves
people who try to defeat
each other

15. Expressive-synonymic meaning in journalism vs. metaphoric-derivative meaning in fiction

EXPRESSIVE-SYNONYMIC MEANING IN JOURNALISM
VS. METAPHORIC-DERIVATIVE MEANING IN FICTION
• Expressive synonyms do not present a challenge to the
reader in terms of their content. They are easily
recognized and comprehended in the text as emotiveexpressive-evaluative elements, which serve to convey
the speaker’s / writer’s attitude or state of the mind.
• Unlike the metaphoric-derivative meaning – a prevailing
feature of the functional style of fiction – the expressivesynonymic meaning is easier to grasp: the dynamic
aspect of the word’s semantics in this case is focused on
the theme which develops within a strictly limited space
of a newspaper article.

16. The poetic function aimed at how the message is formed and conveyed

THE POETIC FUNCTION AIMED AT HOW THE
MESSAGE IS FORMED AND CONVEYED
• In newspaper discourse, figurative language is often
employed for purposes of expressivity: to add a stylistic
colouring to the text, to make it ‘appealing’ to the
reader as well as to avoid tediousness.
• Some ‘stock’ (trite) metaphors may acquire a dynamic
aspect and become stylistically marked elements. The
use of such words contributes to the expression of the
author’s attitude in presenting the story, e.g. in rendering
irony.
• The author’s views on topics of general interest, cultural,
social, or political, become the chief communicative
purpose, which ultimately determines the use of
language resources.

17. ‘sustained’ metaphor

‘SUSTAINED’ METAPHOR
• A ‘sustained metaphor’ (развернутая метафора)
is a trope used as a stylistic device in constructing
the text.
• ‘to beat’ – “to play percussion instruments” // “to
defeat”: This will be difficult to beat, it deserves a
loud drumroll to announce its opening, he rises up
and the rhythms of his heart and instruments infuse
the soundtrack, the tension is already electric, the
road from percussion to concussion is absolutely
thrilling (paronymic attraction).

18. The sustained metaphor based on the film FULL metal jacket: the cognitive function

THE SUSTAINED METAPHOR BASED ON THE FILM
FULL METAL JACKET:
THE COGNITIVE FUNCTION
• Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 British-American war film directed and
produced by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay by Kubrick, Michael Herr,
and Gustav Hasford was based on Hasford's novel The ShortTimers (1979). Its storyline follows a platoon of U.S. Marines through
their training, primarily focusing on two privates, Joker and Pyle, who
struggle to get through camp under their foul-mouthed drill instructor,
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. The film's title refers to the full metal jacket
bullet used by soldiers.
• In many ways, this is FULL Metal Jacket set in an elite music conservatory
in New York // a brutal sergeant-type breaks down a rookie recruit //
music teacher…actually looks like a military killer, with veins angrily
popping in his shaved head // When he shouts, you want to hide under
the cinema seat (a humorous effect) // he sees Neiman’s talent and
drive and sadistically manipulates it to the farthest extreme…
• In a sustained metaphor, the nomination process covers not only the
object that is being described, but also the related phenomena in the
situation. Most words in the co-text then acquire connotative pragmatic
meanings.

19. The cognitive function: the previous background knowledge

THE COGNITIVE FUNCTION: THE
PREVIOUS BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
• Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12,
1955), also known as Yardbird and Bird, was an
American jazz saxophonist and composer.

20. Implications for translation

IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSLATION
• It follows from what has been said above that the
communicative purpose behind newspaper texts is to
introduce new information with a considerable element
of intensification in an attempt to form and influence the
public opinion. Much depends then on the dynamic
meanings of words and the individual view of the author.
• The analysis of expressive synonyms both in the source
and target languages as well as their mappings,
becomes an important strategy in translation.
• Some elements in the text will require a cultural or
context-specific commentary to fully convey the
information and explicate the textual forms.