Scholarly record

LANGUAGE REPRESENTATION OF THE INFORMATION RELATING TO A LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION

D.Tokmakov

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine language representation methods of natural disasters and to find the strategies of how English-language media resources describe life-threatening situations. The study was conducted using discourse analysis (DA), conceptual metaphor theory. We used different approaches to discourse analysis (linguistic approach, sociolinguistic approach, philosophical approach). The research analyzed a set of texts about natural disasters found in American, British, Indian and Australian quality online newspapers and media resources. We considered newspaper reports and focused mainly on communicative and pragmatic characteristics of the texts. We pointed out the characteristics of the participants of the communication process (addresser and addressee), highlighted different types of information, typical for the texts analyzed. The research also revealed some metaphorical models which we call В«M-modelsВ», frames and slots. We found such M-models as В«Natural disaster is a living beingВ», В«Natural disaster is a warВ», В«Natural disaster is God's warningВ». The results represented some methods of how the people perceive reality, and how it is reflected in the media resources considered.

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