Linguistic Creativity in Electronic Mass Media Discourse: Means and Methods

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the means of linguistic creativity verbalization in the discourse of electronic mass media. Aiming at the detection and analysis of these means, realized by employing devices of various language levels, the authors emphasize the necessity of using a complex of research methods, such as content analysis, descriptive, semiotic and classification method to identify, analyze, classify the detected lexical, graphic, grammar and stylistic techniques to highlight the most widely used means of actualizing linguistic creativity in mass media discourse. The overview of the approaches to the analysis of electronic mass media is included. The authors also point out at multi-disciplinary character and complexity of the category of linguistic creativity, which involves activity, cognitive and communicative aspects. The research material is comprised of texts of mailing lists devoted to the topic of pandemic. In the result of conducted research the authors come to conclusion that means of actualization of linguistic creativity include verbal and non-verbal mechanisms which create psycho-emotional effect, exactly, lexical, grammar, stylistic and graphic means; lexical units of certain subject areas – medicine, telecommunications – used in the transformed meaning, which is achieved by employing a number of stylistic expressive means; visual elements which help to identify implicit meanings present in the texts; lexical deviations functioning as occasionalisms as an additional factor of attracting attention to the information in the texts.

Keywords

• grammar devices
• graphic devices
• lexeme “coronavirus”
• lexical devices
• linguistic creativity
• media discourse
• stylistic devices
• electronic mass media
• fake mailing lists
• language play
• language creativity