Authors’ names:
- Ella G. Kulikova – People’s Friendship University named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN University named after Patrice Lumumba), Moscow, Russia
- Zaira K. Tedeeva – South Ossetian State University named after A. A. Tibilov, Beslan, South Ossetia
Abstract:
Political correctness as a strategy of speech behaviour has received great recognition and popularity, and linguistic parameters of politically correct communication have been the subject of numerous studies. In addition to the obvious advantages of political correctness, this socio-cultural and linguistic phenomenon has, at the same time, certain negative features. The main strategies of politically correct, polite communication are taboos and euphemization aimed at avoiding discriminatory, disrespectful statements. In the several decades of active implementation of political correctness ideas in Russia, clear rules have developed in terms of three key areas of discrimination: discrimination by age, by gender, and by race (nationality, ethnicity), and the tradition of blocking manifestations of ageism has become firmly established in the Russian society. In more recent years, however, and, more specifically, in the media, this tradition has begun to erode. In media texts of recent years — and especially in political polemics — there has been a noticeable tendency to neglect restrictions connected with manifestations of ageism. The article seeks to analyze the causes and consequences of this phenomenon, examining conscious violations of ethical and linguistic standards related to mentions of a person’s age. The authors determine origins of such speech, assess its cognitive and communicative properties, and look at the linguistic and pragmatic characteristics of violations of ethical and linguistic standards in this area. With the recent change in foreign policy (the forced isolation of the Russian Federation after the start of the special military operation, Western sanctions, and the information war unleashed against Russia by the NATO countries, etc.), the rhetoric of our media has also changed significantly, including a number of changes in relation to ageism. Based on the material of modern media, the article studies statements with signs of ageism, analyzing the conditions that trigger violations of standards of political correctness in the media discourse within the framework of the cognitive-communicative approach based on functional-pragmatic analysis and sociolinguistic methodology. The authors conclude that even in emotionally charged arguments and debates, high-quality media should not engage in insults based on age but rather must seek to preserve high discourse standards, providing arguments, counterarguments, and refutations of opponents’ statements strictly on their merits. Despite all the current instability and ambiguity, political correctness retains the noble goal of abstaining from offending and verbally insulting people, and modern media should definitely take this into consideration.
| Section | LANGUAGE AND CULTURE |
| DOI: | 10.47388/2072-3490/lunn2023-63-3-82-92 |
| Downloads | 264 |
| Key words | media discourse; political correctness; tolerance; politeness; ethical and speech standards; ageism |