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Introduction
Digitalization appears as a process that affects all spheres of life and results in their fundamental change. Social relations are also being transformed under the influence of digitalization: the digital world is not so much the world of the future as our present, which is defined as a fusion of the virtual and real worlds, the world of communication shifts and breaks. Journalism and media work have acquired new qualities in this world, concerning, first of all, the acceleration of the processing and transmission of information, which is connected with endowing journalism and its product, as well as media practitioners in general, with new qualities - technological effectiveness and highly intelligent content. These qualities change the process of creating a media text and the process of distributing a text product, the process of exchanging information and the process of consuming journalistic text along with the functioning of other media texts in the information field. According to Tapscott & Williams (2010), new parameters of subject-to-subject, horizontal, mutually beneficial communication mediated by the Internet are being formed.
In this context, there is a rethinking of the linguistic behavior of a journalist as the author of the text, as well as the linguistic practices on the whole, used by the media to interact in the media space. These processes are investigated in the realm of cognitive linguistics which is concerned with the components of linguistic reality, such as thinking, the fund of general knowledge and ideas about the world, “everyday logic”, psychological mechanisms. In this case, cognitive activity is considered as “a set of processes of perception, thinking, memory, aimed at making sense of the world around us”. (Ostretsova, 2014)
The process of conceptualization as the most important process of human cognitive activity based on the comprehension of information coming from outside, which results in the formation of concepts, as well as conceptual structures and conceptual systems of a person, stands out among the key cognitive processes. In light of conceptualization, information is divided into meaningful elements - concepts that are subsequently used to provide logical operations. The second cognitive process is called the process of categorization as assembling of units to large categories as a result of information processing. Both of these processes underlie language practices that are, according to Gavin (1998), the balance of the work of the human cognitive system.
Language practices make it possible to represent finished concepts and categories, reflect the processes of generating new concepts, as well as new mental spaces with the formation of the meanings of linguistic units, which is indicative of the modern field of media discourse. The issues of studying the patterns of formation of these linguistic units in the modern media space, influenced by globalization and digitalization, are the main ones for the authors of this paper, the purpose of which is the identification of the main forms of discursive practices used by regional Russian network media.
Materials and methods
Discursive practices were studied on the basis of discursive and functional-communicative approaches in their combination to expose the features of various linguistic phenomena in the real context of media practice in the Russian region. We relied on the cognitive-discursive paradigm (Kubryakova, 2008) with the priority of the communicative and cognitive functions of the media language in their constant interaction and coordination.
The subject of analysis were professional mass media and their verified Internet representations registered as online media in Russian regions that are the part of the Volga region: the Republic of Tatarstan, the Republic of Mari El, the Republic of Udmurtia, and the Republic of Mordovia.
Results and discussion
The basis for the analysis of discursive practices is the concept of discourse. It, according to the scholars, is one of the key concepts in modern paradigm of the synthesis of cognitive and communication (Hanks, 1989; Gee, 2014; Andreeva, 2015).
As shown by theoretical analysis, in modern scientific community there is no shared vision of the problem of discourse. There are three main concepts of discourse, defined as leading. They express different approaches to speech practices and the difference between them is operationalized by Andreeva (2015).
The cognitivist conception, the main postulate of which is a judgment about the immutable reality and autonomy of the subject, considers discourse as a synonym for speech-thinking activity with an emphasis on the issues of speech generation as the objectification of mental structures in a speech utterance - the text. Eco (1984), defines it as a syntactic-semantic-pragmatic device, the interpretation of which is also a part of the process of its creation. Discourse is defined as a cognitive-communicative event and a product of the interaction of communication parties carried out by means of a certain code, taking place in certain socio-cultural and historical conditions.
The concepts of poststructuralism and constructivism, based on the ideas of linguistic determinism, social constructivism and subject decentration, were developed by Foucault (1970), who introduced the concept of discourse, having defined it as a way of seeing the real world and a way of presenting it. Discourse is presented in this light as a cognitive-thematic space that forms meaningful and relevant for society semantic positions, expressed in sets of scattered texts that set certain subject positions to the participants of communication (Andreeva, 2015).
The neo-rhetorical conception considers the concept of discourse based on the ideas of speech activity as a set of communicative competencies that take the form when creating a text in accordance with the laws that influence the formation of sustainable discursive practices (Tjupa, 2013). Tyupa (2014), refers the practices of narrative to them: “narrative worldview”, “narrative intrigue”, “narrative ethos”, narrative and performative strategies. In the modern media field, when creating a media discourse (Agratin, 2019), they are defined as specific discursive practices of representing the world in the format of narrative statements (Andreeva, 2006). Discourse is defined here as a strategy for generating and reading texts, a specific way of verbal presentation of the world or a fragment of the world (Andreeva, 2015).
Interesting is the interpretation of discourse by Kubryakova (2000), who defines it as a form of language use in real (current) time, when it can be described taking into account the type of social activity in which it is generated, adding distinct specialized character to a discursive activity.
According to a number of scholars, the most accurate understanding of discourse is reflected in the term “discursive practices”, grounded in keeping with poststructuralism and deconstructivism by Derrida (1967, 1994), used, however, more frequently in Foucault’s interpretation in the context of linguistic conception of thinking, which makes it possible to reduce media text-forming activities to discursive media practices that predetermine linguistic behavior in the public sphere. The institutionalization of discursive practices (Kulikova, 2015) as a way of comprehending and interpreting social life makes it possible to reveal in this phenomenon the characteristics of the dynamism of the organization of communicative systems within society, which, according to Issers (2008), reflects the speech behavior and thinking inherent in a given social community, forming new forms of communication.
Interest in discursive media practices also arises in connection with a change in discursive paradigms, causing, according to Mlechko & Shamaev (2018), an inevitable rotation of media discourse models under the influence of technologization of the media field, entailing active interaction of discursive practices. Zheltukhina (2016), defines media discourse (mass media discourse) as a text expressed by the media and communication means, taken in the event aspect, representing an action per se. Media discourse participates in socio-cultural interaction and reflects the mechanism of consciousness of communicants. Thus, discursive media practices as a generalized concept of media discourse actualize the process of reflecting socio-cultural characteristics inherent in the modern media sphere in the media discourse.
As the review of theoretical investigations has shown, the analysis of discourse practices focuses on the use of existing discourses and genres by the authors of texts and on the use of communicative competences by the addressees in the perception and interpretation of texts. Media discourse is under the growing influence of globalization and digitalization, which affects the transformation of the continuous flow of information in the media space into media discourse texts. And network media as the main channels of media discourse are in a constant state of flux.
The analysis of the online regional media discourse made it possible to single out such discursive characteristics as polydiscursiveness and interdiscursiveness, which are distinguished by the integration of consumerist, identifying media discourses. Against this background, the most common type of discursive practice is the narrative practice, which allows for the adaptation of the ethno-cultural features of media communications and their integration into the common cultural space with the linguistic specifics in mind. In all online media, without distinction, narrative practices have been identified for conveying the meanings contained in the text, which is reflected, for example, in the set of media sections: “Stories” on the Udmurt portal of the Susanin IA (https://susanin.news/); “I’m proud!” on the portal of the MediaPotok IA of the Republic of Mari El (https://potokmedia.ru/gorzhus/); “Culture” of the Mordovian weekly “Vecherny Saransk” (http://www.vsar.ru/newsline/view/27); “Places” in the Kazan magazine “Indé” (https://inde.io/).
Typical for the network space of the region are also the discursive practices such as: the linguistic manipulations; the use of network slang and accentuation of memes; the priority of sign symbols as means of expression in network media communication (the use of emoticons). The frequency of application of language manipulations as a discursive practice is influenced by the following factors: the degree of activation of multi-format processes and imaginary interactivity; the amount of personalization of texts and messages; the depth of convergence of information delivery channels; the degree of continuity and flow of information. The semantic mechanism of euphemization as the use of euphemisms of social prohibitions and restrictions in the discussion of certain topics (physiology, human anatomy, relations between the sexes, illness, death, etc.) can be considered as one of the most applicable mechanisms of linguistic manipulation. This practice often occurs when it is necessary to form a new - different - attitude towards certain segments of the population, the designations of which may have a negative connotation (for example, the term “drug user” becomes a characteristic replacement for the usual “drug addict”).
The use of online slang and memes by regional online media is conditioned by the specifics of the media field and the interests of the Internet audience. Network slang contributes to the formation of a network communication environment. Online mass media are also involved in this process, as the result of which online slang and memes have become an integral part of a significant segment of network media. However, the use of visual memes is recognized only in official public media (for example, as a “preview” - an image accompanying a preview of material on a social network before going to a media site). Thus, the online magazine about life in Kazan and the cities of the Republic of Tatarstan “Indé” (https://inde.io/) regularly uses this technique to increase the loyalty of the audience of social networks and increase the number of transitions to the publication’s website from the media community in the social network. Emoticons in media texts are used to draw attention to a topic, the use of these practices is typical in social networks, messengers, etc. On the other hand, online slang is revealed in the media texts of the media.
The presence of both mono-text and trans-text models of media discourse in the online media of the Russian region has been discovered. If mono-models (46% of the entire studied array of media texts) reflect a communicative event as a single phenomenon, then trans-text models (54%) are connected with overcoming the boundaries of the text - intertextuality. The latter most often contribute to the arrangement of text in the dynamic space of communication, influenced by the general laws of media communication development.
We have revealed a tendency towards the presentation of the superpersonal experience of the authors of the text, reflected in the integrativeness of the media discourse, the actualization of blog communication and the accentuation of linguistic personalities in the process of generating and reading the media text. All analyzed media are integrated into the media field in the form of social networks, instant messengers, blogs. Attention is paid to an increase in the value of hypertext links comprehended in the body of journalistic text, allowing for the creation of linked text-blocks included in a common digital information space, which serves to maintain a high level of social interaction with access to special services in social networks.
The online regional media discourse is distinguished by a restrained presentation of the linguistic and extralinguistic characteristics of the linguistic personality, who, being the main figure in the formation of regional media discourse, accentuates the speech behavior of the subjects of discursive practices, which affects the characteristics of the text and its interpretation by the audience.
The online regional media discourse is formed on the basis of the integration of the three types of media discourse: consumerist, identifying and media, which leads to the actualization of polydiscursivity and interdiscursiveness of media texts. The discursive practices of the regional network mass media are aimed at the formation of specialized groups of consumers of texts engaged in the distribution of content, which results in growth of the aggregation of news and information, allowing the user to form an individual agenda.
The most common type of discursive practice is the narrative, the functionality of which is connected with the adaptation of ethno-cultural characteristics of regional media communications and their integration into a common cultural space with linguistic specifics in mind.
Among the frequent discursive practices that are typical for the network space of the region, one distinguishes the following: the linguistic manipulations; the use of online slang and accentuation of memes; the priority of sign symbols as means of expression in online media communication (use of emoticons). The implementation of the identified practices is conditioned by specifics of the regional media field and the Internet audience’s interests.
Conclusions
Thus, the discursive practices of modern online media in the Russian region reflect the mainstream in the development of the global information space. They are distinguished by the formation of flexible models of communication interaction between communication participants through text innovations, network technologies for managing audience flows, attention and needs of the audience.
The main discursive practice is the narrative, which reflects the peculiarities of ethno-cultural narration, the involvement of the audience in this process at the level of consumerism and tendency of intertextuality. Narrative should be defined as a stable discursive practice of the modern media field. Discursive practices of regional network media are an integral part of the process of speech behavior in the media sphere. The professional online media are, thus, inevitably subject to its influence and adopt, albeit to a lesser extent, the trends that are inherent in social and citizen media.
