Specifics of expressing evaluation in motivated questions of the journalist (on the material of modern British interviews)

Abstract

The article describes the peculiarities of expressing evaluation in motivated questions of the journalist on the material of the interviews from the British newspaper “The Observer”. The term “motivated question” is used to denote an utterance where the question-part is preceded by an affirmative part containing facts or evaluation. Evaluation expression in the assertive part is analysed in the context of communicative strategies of the journalist. One of the strategies is the strategy of maintaining neutrality which on the language level is realised in three ways. Firstly, the journalist can refer to the evaluation expressed by the interviewee or another person; secondly, the passive verb-form can be used; thirdly, the interviewer can use the formal subject “there”. However, if in the first case the journalist emphasises the subjective character of the expressed evaluation, the latter techniques let the journalist present the situation as an objective fact or a widespread opinion. Expressing its personal evaluation, the journalist tends to weaken intensity of the said, thus making the utterance sound less categorical in order to optimise the process of communication with the immediate interlocutor.