Conceptualization of South Ossetia conflict by Russian bloggers

Abstract

The present study analyzes the narratives by Russian bloggers on the 2008 South-Ossetia conflict. This analysis of political discourse is underpinned by the principles of cognitive linguistics, developed on the basis of bodily experience of human beings. The combination of different approaches leads to a more comprehensive analysis and concise interpretation of events taking place in society. This cognitive-discursive perspective differs from traditional studies of mass media narratives which mostly base on Discourse Analysis (DA) and/or Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), i.e., language in use is studied from the perspective of meaning on/ above the level of sentences and through the relationship between language and society, as well as language and power. Methodologically, this study was conducted on the basis of integrative speech analysis, critical discourse analysis, and cognitive linguistics. From the cognitive point of view, bloggers’ discourse is based on concepts evaluated positively (BENEFIT, FAIRNESS/HONORABLE CASE), negatively (CONQUER, PROBLEM, VANDALISM, NEGOTIATED MATCH), and neutrally (DEMONSTRATION, TEST). From the linguistic point of view, in their discourse, bloggers extensively use metaphors, which belong to the most effective ways of expressing opinions and are widely used by the media to create vivid images of the events described. A qualitative generalization of the data of content analysis proves that the attitude of Russian bloggers to the conflict is quite diverse, there is no consensus about how the war was fought, about its results, about the current situation and future prospects for the region.