Immigration Discourse in the British Press: Peculiarities of Construction

Abstract

The present research features immigration discourse published in the Daily Mail. The author believes immigration discourse to be a consequence of the so-called Arab Spring of 2011. The paper describes some peculiarities of the discourse related to the events of 2011, its semantic indicators, and some particular examples. According to the critical discourse analysis, discourse is a form of social interaction, which makes it possible to clarify how ideology sets the formatting rules of discourse and determines its content. The relevance of the study is due to the growing scientific interest to the phenomenon of political discourse and its various aspects. The research revealed non-politicized terminology that represents immigrants as helpless, desperate victims, who are described with the help of "humanitarian" concepts when it goes about immigration control measures. However, the humanization and victimization of immigrants act as a justification for the measures taken to combat "illegal" immigration and the "humanitarian rescue" of citizens in danger.

Keywords

• critical discourse analysis
• political discourse
• immigration
• social context
• social practice