Specific features of interpretation focuses in media discourse: Cognitive approach

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of how the interpretation focuses are implemented in the description of a political event by news publications of different ideological bents from the perspective of the cognitive approach. This approach allows to identify factors and cognitive mechanisms aimed at processing information and its interpretation, taking into account the intentions of the author of the news publication. The purpose of the study is to determine the specific features of interpretation focuses in media discourse. The research has established the significance of the factor “friend or foe” and a number of cognitive mechanisms on the basis of which the author’s interpretation focuses are realized. The following cognitive mechanisms are identified: the mechanism of frame recurrence, gradation, repetition, opposition, perspectivization, conceptual metaphor, conceptual metonymy, conceptual metaphtonymy, conceptual comparison. As a specific feature of the implementation of the author’s interpretation focus, it is determined that the author of the liberal publication activates all the identified cognitive mechanisms, and the highest frequency of use is characteristic of the mechanisms of gradation and conceptual metaphor. In general, this author is characterized by a high intensity of negative tonality, which is realized by all identifi ed cognitive mechanisms. The author of a conservative publication does not activate the mechanism of conceptual comparison. It has also been established that the mechanisms of gradation, repetition, perspectivization, and conceptual metonymy are in demand for the implementation of various interpretation focuses. Along with this, cases of joint implementation of some cognitive mechanisms have also been identified. These facts indicate the dynamics of the author’s interpretive activity in media discourse. The prospect of the study lies in the possibility of using the obtained results as a cognitive basis for the formation of interpretation focuses in media discourse on the analysis of other political events, as well as on the material of other languages.

Keywords

• interpretation focus
• cognitive approach
• “friend – foe” factor
• cognitive mechanism
• political media discourse