Филологический класс (Dec 2021)
“The Dictionary of Legal Terms in the Russian Mass-Media of 21st Century” as а New Lexicographical Product
Abstract
The article presents to the scientific community a new dictionary of legal terms created on the basis of the materials of the Russian mass-media of the 21st century. The aim of the study is to substantiate the concept of a discourse dictionary that registers real but not normative meanings of legal terms in the media discourse of our time. The article describes the structure of an entry, illustrated on the example of the entry LEGITIMATION, and analyzes the data obtained as a result of lexicographic investigation. The entry consist of the sections allowing the lexicographer to explicate conceptual, figurative and evaluative layers of the legal media concept represented by the term LEGITIMATION. Such entry structure makes it possible to analyze the definitions of the term in mass-media, to present information of encyclopaedic character posses- sing linguocultural specificity. Analysis of the metaphorical combinability of the term-representative of the legal media concept in mass media allows establishing a set of images with which the media concept under consi- deration is correlated in linguistic consciousness in mass media and to reveal its assessment. To collect practical language research material, the authors use the corpus method differing traditional methods in textocentricity, scope of research, reliability of results. The description and interpretation of the material involves definitional and distributive analysis, discursive analysis and the method of metaphorical modelling. The material presented in the entry LEGITIMATION clearly demonstrates the discursive specificity of this legal term in a media discourse. In particular, the core semantic component “legalization” of legal discourse, in media discourse is specified and transformed into ‘statement’ and ‘confirmation’ of legality and acquires peripheral features like ‘recognition’ and ‘agreement’. Neutral inherently, the legal term becomes metaphorical and evaluative in a media discourse, which also testifies to the transformation of the legal term in a legal media concept. The media specificity in the semantics of the term and in the structure of the concept demonstrates the importance of the discursive factor in the study of legal terminology and conceptology. The dictionary materials may be useful for specialists in the field of law, journalists and linguists.
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