The potential of emotive language to influence the understanding of textual information in media coverage

Abstract

AbstractOnline media attempts to influence how people think. The promotion of online discourses and the use of extra-linguistic factors enable a tilt towards a desired way of thinking. Internet users seek, make decisions, and act not only according to their beliefs but also according to the ideas propagated by the media. This paper focuses on public relations formation in a media discourse and an emotive response to news coverage. The paper aims to analyze the use of emotive linguistic means at the level of Kazakh media discourse. Through contextual analysis of emotive vocabulary used in media discourse, the paper explores the cognitive perception of media coverage by readers. This method allows for an in-death study of emotivity. The scientific novelty of the study is that it examines the emotive aspect of the Internet media discourse. The results show that emotivity of the Kazakh media texts is expressed using lexical and syntactic means and is crucial for building public relations and influencing the audience. The studied corpus includes media texts from the three largest online media sources in Kazakhstan. It appears that the culture of Internet media readers plays a decisive role in how they perceive products of communication, even if there are other variables involved in the equation. The use of emotive items in online media debates was found to depend on discourse content and writer’s intentions. A sample of emotive items was used. Content published on politics-oriented online media (Zakon.kz) channeled negative emotions, namely sadness and fear. Online media sources with entertainment content (Kazinform and Sputnik Kazakhstan) were characterized by the presence of such universal emotions as fear, joy, and hope. Positive emotions prevail. In general, the potential of Internet media content to influence readers and manipulation tactics vary depending on the content of the coverage.