Semiotics of Discourses’ Interaction in Mass Media

Abstract

The topicality of undertaken research is determined by the fact that presently in the field of media discourse there is an interaction between other discourses, which is implemented by means of signs, as a result of which a multifaceted representation of a certain event is achieved, which plays an important role in persuading the recipient. The purpose of the present paper is to study the semiotic basis of the interaction of various discourses within the media discourse. The study was conducted on the material of media texts – the texts of articles posted on the website of The Guardian newspaper. During the study, methods of discourse analysis, semiotic analysis, methods of observation and description were used. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the inclusion of signs of other discourses into the media discourse in order to represent a certain event leads to interaction between discourses, which manifests itself in the forms of interdiscursivity and polydiscursivity. The polydiscursivity of media discourse results in a multifaceted presentation and analysis of the situation described in the media text; the combination of signs of different discourses within the media discourse leads to the representation of a combined situation in it. The specificity of interdiscursivity lies in the fact that as a result of the use of signs of another discourse in the media discourse, a certain everyday situation becomes part of the media situation, a participant in which – a journalist – simultaneously performs the functions of a participant in the everyday situation; at the same time, the information channel, which is part of the media situation, is used to transmit specific everyday information, and not information about socio-political, economic and other events. The interaction between discourses in the field of media discourse indicates the interpenetration and mutual influence of various spheres of human life and the representation of this process in media discourse.

Keywords

• media discourse
• indexes
• polydiscursivity
• interdiscursivity
• interaction of discourses
• combined situation
• combined discourse