News propositions with evaluative nouns (based on English media texts)

Abstract

The dominant value systems within a society are reflected in media discourse, which shapes the views and worldview of the recipients. To start the process of message reconstruction by a reader, the media use actively well-known and easily recognizable triggers of emotional comprehension, which often act as linguistic units with a value concept. A concept is contained in every form of codification of the reported information, including at the syntactic level, where a potential concept is a proposition. The present study analyzes nouns that act as actants and predicates in propositions and contain morphemes with value concepts. The reasons for the value conceptualization of affixes are the assimilation of mass consumption culture-driven experiences, mass media that can affect sacred cultural codes, and critical historical epochs, in moments of devaluation of cultural traditions. Such affixes acquire affective meanings and begin to be actively used in other linguistic units because, above all, they allow to attract attention. Moreover, they appeal to the non-banal reflection of situations, are capable of conveying details and shades of meaning, stirring the imagination and evoking emotions. Consequently, they allow to concisely clarify various nuances of meaning, including axiological plan. The author prescribes the research methodology based on the continuous sampling of articles, which allows us to find out the cultural and historical contexts influencing value conceptualization, as well as to determine the pragmatic purposes of using nouns with evaluative affixes in news propositions. The article provides examples illustrating how linguistic structures can shape public consciousness and influence the perception of events.