Emotional Tone of the Supertext of the Coronavirus Social Poster

Abstract

This article analyses the modal category of emotionality in the coronavirus advertising discourse, characterising the linguistic means and speech techniques used to convey a textual modality, generally formed on the basis of three functional and semantic subfields: emotional evaluation, volition, and intensity. The study is based on a corpus of 1,500 Russian social advertising posters related to the coronavirus, which is considered by the authors as a single supertext characterised by an integral modal attitude. The article shows the dual nature of the subfield of emotional evaluation, formed by appealing to the semantically opposite emotions of hope and fear in one coronavirus supertext. The hypothesis is put forward that the change of the dominant emotions of hope and fear contributes to an increased propensity among the population to implement the proposed preventive measures. The manifestation of a mobilising and intimidating modality is consistently analysed within the framework of an ambivalent emotional matrix constructed in the supertext. For each type of modality, a different set of language tools and speech strategies for emotional impact are used. Thus, the hope for a favorable outcome and a life-affirming worldview is created through the use of the lexemes победить (to win), победа (victory), бороться (to struggle), уверенность (confidence), солидарность (solidarity), the predicative unit мы вместе (we are together), as well as through the implementation of techniques of emotional outburst, stroking, infection, and empathy. The manifestation of the emotion of fear is carried out within the boundaries of shock advertising, which removes the taboo on the direct use of lexemes that cause a feeling of fear: смерть (death), смертельно (deadly), умирать (to die), убивать (to kill), and похоронные службы (funeral services). Rhetorical questions in shock advertising directly appeal to the addressee, forming a sense of guilt in them, giving them a chance to correct the situation with the help of vaccination. The degree of effectiveness of presenting autonomous clusters of emotions in the advertising supertext of the COVID-19 pandemic period, which are opposite in semantics, requires further study.

Keywords

• социальная реклама
• пандемия коронавируса
• сверхтекст
• текстовая модальность / тональность
• категория эмоциональности
• надежда
• страх