Conceptual Foundations of Digital Newsdiscourseology as a Fundamental Subdiscipline of Newslinguistics: Overcoming Outdated Scientific-Theoretical Models

Ahmadova Ulkar Mazahir gizi ORCID: 0009-0009-6153-5635 Lecturer, Department of English (for Humanities faculties), Baku State University; Doctoral Candidate, Department of English Language Stylistics, Azerbaijan University of Languages; Translator, Institute of Law and Human Rights (a public legal entity). 33 Zahid Khalilov str., room 003, Baku, Yasamal, Azerbaijan, AZ1073 ulya.gemini777@gmail.com

As is well known, technological transformations of the digital age have necessitated the formation of a new research agenda that affects virtually all scientific paradigms, leading to significant quantitative and qualitative shifts encompassing both the theoretical and methodological foundations of modern science. Linguistic science, in particular, systematically faces a situation that mandates the rapid adaptation of its inherent research paradigms to the swiftly changing conditions of the digital environment. This dynamic not only opens new perspectives for studying the contemporary digital information space as a whole but also creates potential constraints that complicate the analysis of the entire language system within the framework of informational realities.

Digital newsdiscourseology represents a new sub-branch of linguistic science – newslinguistics – that combines scientific research approaches from disciplines such as internet linguistics and media linguistics, as well as the latest theoretical models for studying the news landscape. Unlike the specifics of traditional media linguistics and internet linguistics, the study of digital newsdiscourseology is exclusively based on digital news formats, including news websites, news blogs, and news aggregators. The scholarly focus of this discipline includes studying the linguistic and discursive features of news content, as well as the specifics of pragmatic aspects and cognitive impact on users.

The relevance of our study is justified by the necessity for a clear delineation of scientific research approaches within the disciplines of media linguistics and internet linguistics. Media linguistics, as an interdisciplinary field and the subject of numerous contemporary studies, is based on the theoretical foundations of linguistics, journalism, sociology, and communication theory. This media discipline examines the language specifics of both traditional and new media, as well as the mechanisms of production, distribution, and consumption of various types of media products. The concept of media linguistics was first introduced into scientific literature by the honorary professor of the University of Liverpool, J. Korner. According to his opinion, media linguistics is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the language of mass media, including its interaction with other semiotic systems such as visual, auditory, and other multimodal components of the media landscape. Scholars pay particular attention to the analysis of various genres of media discourse, such as journalism, artistic forms, and news discourse, which possess constantly evolving and dynamic natures, as well as the ability to adapt to innovative technologies ^{[1, p. 149]}.

Additionally, Professor T.G. Dobrosklonskaya of Moscow State University, identifying the features of the concept of media linguistics, notes that this discipline involves the analysis of functional language features in the field of mass communication ^{[2, p. 14]}.

Media linguistics, as a complex construct in modern scientific research, is based on a number of fundamental theoretical approaches. One of the significant and effective approaches in the context of studying this discipline is the systemic-functional approach developed by Australian linguist M. Halliday. In his work, the scholar views language as a social institution that serves specific communicative purposes and functions in the media space ^{[3, p. 21-29]}. The sociolinguistic approach, pioneered by American linguist and founder of sociolinguistics W. Labov, relies on studying language through the prism of social interaction. This approach examines social determinants as fundamental factors of linguistic changes, which are vividly evident in the contemporary media landscape. The pragmatic approach encompasses in-depth studies of the specifics of speech acts across all media spaces, also considering the analysis of features and properties of media texts, including informativeness and persuasiveness. In this context, it is essential to mention the scientific works of J. Austin and J. Searle, who laid the foundation for the theory of speech acts, which today serve as a key tool in studying modern language strategies widely used in digital news platforms. According to the descriptive-analytical theory of Professor J. Austin of the University of Oxford, developed and presented in his scientific work ‘How to Do Things with Words’, the scholar examines language not only in the context of information transmission but also as ‘social behavior’ ^{[4, p. 147]}. Further developing this idea, Doctor of Philosophy V.V. Ogleznev rightfully notes that in the presence of a social aspect, the subject of analysis inevitably becomes not the statement itself but the context of the use of speech activity, as well as the goals and motivations of the addresser ^{[4, p. 153]}.

One of the key components of our research is the analysis of the pragmatic aspects of digital news content. According to the American philosopher and one of the founders of semiotics, C. Morris, pragmatic analysis involves examining the functions of linguistic signs in specific communicative situations ^{[5, p. 29-34]}. The scholar also highlights the importance of adapting the sign system to the recipient, which plays a fundamental role in understanding the mechanisms of cognitive activity ^{[6, p. 62]}. However, in the digital environment, traditional views on the pragmatic potential of the sign system are significantly expanded through the use of specific computerised tools unique to this environment, which, in turn, consist of complex sign systems with their own linguistic-pragmatic load. These tools include interactive graphics, hypertext, and multimodal elements, which determine the complexity and multidimensionality of the networked space. These sign systems not only perform an informative function but also form certain cognitive models and strategies in the minds of users regarding their perception of information. The study of such specific cognitive mechanisms as the perception of multimodal texts, focusing on their main components, and the potential impact of multimedia elements, is a key parameter in the context of studying digital news content ^{[7, p. 11]}.

According to the Australian linguist M. Halliday, the language system is a social fact, the functional nature of which develops in a communicative context ^{[3, p. 1-4]}. The scholar emphasizes the universal nature of the systemic-functional grammar he developed, which is a key component of social semiotics, considering language forms from a semantic perspective. He further elaborates that the aspect of semantic situationality contributes to the formation of the universal grammar through which elements of both spoken and written language become cognitively accessible ^{[8, p. 225]}. Professor G. Kress of University College London, a student of M. Halliday, who introduced the concept of ‘social semiotics’ into scientific literature, popularises his teacher’s ideas and develops new paradigms in the study of semiotics. The scholar also characterises the modern media landscape as a set of modal options available to society, personalised by the innovations of the digital environment ^{[9, p. 76]}. In this context, the aspect of multimodality is a fundamental feature of modern digital realities, incorporating textual, auditory, and visual elements into a unified toolset for the digital communicative space, enabling the organisation of semiotic processes to create and integrate meanings and to facilitate the effective transmission of information ^{[10, p. 6]}.

Multimodality represents an integrative component of modern news platforms, reflecting the complex and multifaceted relationship between various perceptual channels through which information is consumed. In her scholarly work, PhD in Philology Y.V. Sorokina defines multimodality as the simultaneous engagement of several information-perceptual channels for the creation and transmission of information ^{[11, p. 168]}. It is important to note that multimodality, as a characteristic feature of the modern digital informational space, contributes to the creation of hybridised texts with significant cognitive and pragmatic appeal for users. The scholar also suggests combining the systematic study of verbal and non-verbal constituents used for successful information transmission ^{[11, p. 169]}.

We are convinced that, at present, multimodal-polycode texts, characteristic of modern digital news platforms, are becoming the fundamental basis for the formation of digital news text – ‘hypernews’. Due to the ‘conceptual ambiguity’ and inaccuracies in the semantic load of existing terms in the scientific literature, such as ‘media text’, ‘multimodal text’, ‘news text’, ‘hypertext’, ‘cybertext’, and others, we believe that the term ‘hypernews’ as a new concept should rightfully be considered a categorical component within the proposed new discipline – digital newsdiscourseology. This discipline, in turn, is a subdiscipline of newslinguistics, studying the linguistic features of news texts in both printed and digital formats, including their discursive strategies and vectors of impact on a broad audience through the use of various linguistic tools, communicative practices, and pragmalinguistic techniques. As a fundamental structural component of digital newsdiscourseology, hypernews combines the traditional features of news text with a specific set of characteristics inherent to its digital formats. These include multimodality, interactivity, and algorithmic personalisation. Multimodality, as a key feature of modern digital news, involves the integration of textual, graphic, auditory, and visual components through which cognitively enriched and multifunctional structures are formed ^{[12, p. 148]}.

The subject of study in digital newsdiscourseology primarily focuses on examining the pragmalinguistic aspects and the specifics of embedded algorithmic mechanisms and computerised personalisation within modern digital news platforms. These mechanisms have a decisive influence on the aggregation, creation, and distribution of informational content, as well as on the formation of specific communicative strategies and stable pragmatic modules for effective and constructive interaction between authors and audiences. These processes are supported by a wide range of modern technological innovations, including automated natural language processing (NLP), computer vision (CV) technologies, as well as deep learning (DL) and machine learning (ML) algorithms. Significant emphasis is also placed on big data analysis, social graph analysis (SGA), sentiment analysis, semantic analysis, and recommender systems (RS). On the other hand, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, titled ‘Perspectives de l’OCDE sur les compétences’, notes that the use of automated information management systems in the context of news creation and delivery may lead to a change in traditional discursive practices. This is likely to require news journalists to develop new professional skills and fundamental competencies that will enable them to move away from traditional approaches and effectively interact with innovative elements while adapting to new forms of communication in virtual realities ^{[13, p. 272-273]}.

Consequently, considering all the specificities of the modern virtual realities outlined above, there is a critical need for the development of new concepts, approaches, and methodologies within an independent scientific field. Notably, most researchers studying digital journalism agree on its future dominant role, suggesting that it will eventually completely replace traditional journalism, becoming the only existing form of journalism ^{[14, p. 267]}. The relevance of our proposed concept of digital newsdiscourseology is confirmed by studies in news journalism, which also includes an analysis of the innovative trends emerging in the digital environment. E. Rogers emphasises that the introduction of technological innovations transforms the social and communicative vectors of our lives, requiring specialists to adapt their perspectives in line with the modified communicative models inherent to the digital environment ^{[15, p. 380-384]}. As already mentioned above, this inevitably leads to the creation of a fundamentally new methodology and approaches for developing relevant strategies for presenting, analysing, and interpreting information in the modern digital environment. The existing issues encompass a wide range of specific aspects related to the relationship between text, hypertext, and multimedia in the context of news discourse, as well as changes in the structure, forms, strategies, and interpretation of news. In this situation, a fundamental and essential task is the development of conceptual foundations for new scientific subdisciplines, such as newsdiscourseology, the need for which arises from the deep transformations currently underway. The introduction of this scientific direction also requires rethinking traditional research methods, many of which are no longer in line with established digital realities. From this perspective, it is essential to consider such an important aspect of contemporary communication as the ‘paradox of innovativeness’, which was proposed in 1973 by the American sociologist and communication theorist, Professor E. Rogers of the University of New Mexico ^{[15, p. 314-317]}. Within the framework of this concept, the researcher proposes a segmentation strategy targeting a sub-audience with the lowest socio-economic status, which is more likely to have a minimal level of perception and acceptance of innovative changes and patterns, thus becoming a lagging and marginalised group in the diffusion process. This often occurs due to the authors’ disregard for the rights and needs of an audience that is less inclined towards innovation and emerging trends. Despite the fact that the modern informational space, thanks to its technical accessibility and equipment, seemingly has several advantages, it still contains significant flaws and shortcomings, leading to disproportionate and limited access to various information. According to our research, such flaws, hindering equal access for all participants in information exchange, include high stylistic complexity, language barriers, the use of professional jargon, biased positions of authors, algorithmic personalisation of data for all users of news platforms, automatic and arbitrary segregation of information flows according to user preferences, monetisation, and commercialisation of access to information on modern news platforms, which manifests in partially limited or entirely absent free content.

However, an interesting example also arises in this context. Referring to research data on the mechanism of consuming information content on social platforms, there is currently a tendency to cluster modern society based on the specificity of information consumption by users, which manifests in their conscious limitation of cognitive frameworks ^{[16, p. 104]}. In our view, although the approach proposed by E. Rogers may seem complex, it offers a solution to significant socio-communicative challenges and structural inequalities that are actively developing in the modern informational space. The segmentation strategy, acting as a catalyst in resolving the paradox of innovativeness, as well as issues related to digital regulation, which are so pertinent in the contemporary informational space, makes possible the adaptation and reorientation of created digital content to ensure a more even distribution of information among all participants in communication.

Despite equal user opportunities and continuous dynamism, the modern digital environment, due to its complex algorithmic structure, is confined to limited ‘information bubbles’, which foster the formation of alternative-free dogmatic thinking. This often manifests as negative categorical responses to the events, social phenomena, or processes being covered, thereby completely excluding critical thinking, perception, and full constructive communicative interaction between network actors ^{[16, p. 103]}. This enables the neutralisation of existing hidden mechanisms that contribute to the formation of ‘filter bubbles’ and disproportions in modern information policy, as well as helps to structure and balance the components of the informational digital environment.

We are convinced that the inclusive nature of the aforementioned concept makes it viable and relevant in contemporary reality, particularly in the context of forming a new scientific direction such as digital newsdiscourseology. Since our proposed concept predominantly focuses on the study of linguistic representations and cognitive-pragmatic aspects of hypernews placed on digital news platforms, it is also important to mention the potentially significant role of this sub-discipline in achieving ‘information balance and stability’. Consequently, digital newsdiscourseology will play a fundamental role in revealing the cognitive-pragmatic aspects of linguistic tools and their modelling in the form of ready-made linguistic templates, the study of which will provide users with instant perception of news content and form the basis for creating innovative applications that will be in high demand in the field of automatic news material processing.

Undoubtedly, the constant advancement of the modern world inevitably requires the revision of established methodologies in scientific fields. In this context, the development of a sub-discipline within newslinguistics, such as ‘digital newsdiscourseology’, represents not only a challenge to modern science but also a significant step toward solving the pressing problems faced by contemporary audiences. Further research in this sub-discipline will not only create a scientific-conceptual foundation for studying linguistic representations in the digital information space but also develop ready-made linguistic templates that will enable audiences to instantly and effectively perceive news content. Furthermore, it will help identify implicit techniques deliberately used by authors to achieve various goals, whether they are manipulative, entertaining, distracting, informative, or other types of objectives.