Semantic Change within «Ecology» Lexeme and its Derivatives in the English Language Media Discourse

Abstract

The following article is devoted to the issue of semantic change of «ecology» lexeme in media discourse. Being a new type of a discourse media discourse obtains all its peculiarities while acquiring some distinctive features due to the development of information technologies and methods of information coding and transmission through the communication channels. As a basis of each discourse a text appears as an integral part of media discourse. Created by information technologies for video, audio and printed channels such a text was named «media text». Peculiar properties of media text are the following: focusing of a broad audience, the possibility of transmission through different communication channels and time-relevance of its creation. Public focusing of media texts is a reason for their reflection of socially significant aspects among which is the ecological situation of the world. The multiplicity of media texts on ecological topic allows us to discover various semantic changes within «ecology» lexeme and its root words. Broadening of meaning of the lexeme «ecology» is a consequence of addition of a new value «any domain connected with the learning of its harming factors along with the search of their destruction» to the existing one «the relation of plants and living creatures to each other and to their environment; the study of this». The new meaning leads to interaction of ecological discourse with scientific, cinematographic and literary discourses. At the same time, the analysis proved the broadening of meaning of the derivative «ecological» connected with the increasing interest to social ecology – a system of human-nature relationships. Lexeme «ecological» is used to evaluate human’s way of thinking and behavior. Such broadening of meaning results to interrelation of ecological discourse with social and behavioral discourses.

Keywords

• discourse
• media discourse
• media text
• lexeme
• ecology
• derivative
• broadening of meaning