On Universal Communicative Units of Text and Discourse (As Exemplified in the Language of Mass Communication)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the communicative units functioning in media texts and discourse and defined by the author as universal. Their universality lies in the ambivalent essential-functional nature, which allows them to simultaneously demonstrate their cognitive-modeling and fascinative potential. In other words, these heterogeneous units not only constitute but also highlight the content of the message, ensuring an impact on the addressee both at the level of constructing a certain image (fragment) of reality and at the level of its emotiogenic design. These criteria are primarily met by metaphors in their broadest sense and polycode expression; however, any words and expressions highlighted by intonation or contextually acquiring a stylistic meaning can potentially be considered verbal universal communicative units. Non-verbal universal units are visual and acoustic images that carry a semantic load and simultaneously convey an emotiogenic signal. In general, universal communicative units discursively demonstrate their complex potential for a harmonious combination of form and content on a fascination basis. Their use makes the impact more productive due to the communication of the message simultaneously at the rational and emotional levels, including on the basis of the interaction of heterogeneous semiotic units that form mental representations of the persuasive-suggestive order.  The proposed nomination develops the conceptual and categorical apparatus of modern linguistics and reflects the main provisions of the author’s concept of the communicative matrix of the information-psychological impact, which reveals the fundamental structure of modern media discourse. The article is recommended for linguists, teachers of philology, and specialists in stylistics of the Russian and foreign languages.