Социально-прагматический аспект медиадискурса по теме вакцинации COVID-19

In our modern world, it is important for every person to always be in touch and know what is happening in the world. The medium between people and the events that took place is the mass media, such as the global network – the Internet, television, radio broadcasting, newspapers and magazines. Instant coverage of important issues that concern millions of people around the world places special demands on the author of the media text. Its main task is not only to inform the population about the event, but also to exert a certain manipulative influence on them. The main goal of the authors of the texts is to attract readers and interest them.

Currently, the media text is one of the most famous models of the language existence. This is precisely the relevance of studying and analyzing the modern media discourse. Taking into account the above-mentioned, the topic under consideration is relevant and requires further study.

Discourse, media discourse and its aspects have been analyzed in a large number of works by Russian researchers such as N. D. Arutyunova, V. I. Karasik, E. F. Kirov, Yu. S. Stepanov, and foreign ones – T. A. Van Dyck, Norman Fairclough and F. De Saussure. However, no one has yet analyzed the media texts on the topic of COVID-19 vaccination from the point of view of the socio-pragmatic aspect.

The purpose of the research is a discursive analysis of media texts in English and German–speaking mass media from the point of view of the socio-pragmatic aspect.

The object of research of the work is the study of media discourse.

The subject of the research is a discursive analysis of the media text from the point of view of socio-pragmatic media discourse.

Theoretical methods: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction and comparison. As special methods, paradigms and approaches, the following approaches were used:

– a structural and functional approach that allowed us to study the features of discourse and media discourse;

– an analytical method that made it possible to identify the main types of media discourse and its analyses.

We used a discursive analysis as an applied research method, thanks to which a study of English-language publications and video materials was conducted from the socio-pragmatic point of view of media discourse.

Since March 2020 one of the most important and interesting topics for people has been the topic of coronavirus infection COVID-19. People were in a state of shock and misunderstanding of the further development of the situation. Scientists around the world have begun to create vaccines against this disease. However, people have new questions and reasons for concern, i.e. how effective and safe this vaccine is for them. It is important for the government of any country to vaccinate as many people as possible in order to create collective immunity. But how to convince people of the need to get vaccinated?

Linguistic research nowadays is conducted not only at the level of a word, a sentence or a text, but also at the supra-textual, that is, discursive level. Considering various types of discourse for language analysis, scientists show a special interest in media discourse

There are a large number of approaches and various definitions of the concept of discourse. In this regard, scientists have not identified one generally accepted concept of discourse that would cover all aspects of its use.

Scientists distinguish types of discourse, one of which is the media discourse or otherwise the discourse of the media. E. A. Kostyashina notes that the media discourse has such features that are expressed in the use of linguistic means of various levels.

The media discourse uses the mass media to convey its ideology to the public and to appeal to its audience, to the same belief that both oral and written communications dominate the traditional media discourse. The basis of mass media discourse in media linguistics is the provisions of the scientific direction such as the differentiation and definition of concepts, for example, «text– mediatext», «discourse – media discourse»

Media discourse is the connection and interdependence of speech with consciousness and the manipulative component during the presentation of the information to the audience. Its characteristic feature is the use of an integrated approach to the consideration of media texts. An integrated approach is becoming important in media linguistics. It includes various methods. One of them is the discursive method. With its help, it is possible to trace the relationship between the extralinguistic and linguistic model of the text. Within the framework of this analysis the way and the method of relevance of the topic, the creation of a relationship and connection between ideology, power and language are considered. Language is a means by which you can influence and manipulate people.

Vodak and Krzhizhanovsky noted: «discursive analysis provides a common basis for problem-oriented social research». Basically, discursive analysis is used to conduct research in the use of the language in the context of social problems (i.e. problems in society that negatively affect people). The purpose of discursive analysis is to study the functions of the language and how the meaning is created in different contexts, including the social, cultural and political prerequisites of the discourse.

Zelling Harris defined the concept of the «discourse analysis». He believes that this is a method of speech analysis that is designed to «expand descriptive linguistics beyond a single sentence at a given time and to correlate culture and language».

Discursive analysis goes beyond the literal meaning of words and languages. For example, people in countries that use a lot of censorship are more likely to have their knowledge and therefore their views are limited by this, and thus have a different subjective reality than in countries with weaker censorship laws.

The media discourse with a functional approach is presented as a set of texts that are used in the field of mass communication. The thematic approach allows you to group written and oral texts into certain socially significant topics that have prevailing public attention at a certain moment, such as the topic of vaccination. In the socio-pragmatic aspect discourse is understood as a text that has been immersed in a communication situation, that is, in life

An integrated approach is becoming important in media linguistics. It includes various methods: linguistic analysis, content analysis, critical linguistics, cognitive, linguoculturological, media linguistic and discursive.

The purpose of discursive analysis is to study the functions of the language and how meaning is created in different contexts, including the social, cultural and political prerequisites of the discourse.

Nowadays, people increasingly prefer to search for the information they are interested in on the Internet rather than looking for it in newspapers and magazines.

Using the example of a video on the YouTube platform, we will consider and analyze how the authors tried to convince readers of the benefits of vaccination. Let's assess how the population reacted to this, and whether the authors managed to achieve their goals.

TED-Ed video company provides educational videos for distance learning to the public, and material for a variety of their classes to the teachers. The topic of the video is «How the COVID-19 vaccines were created so quickly?» speakers are Kaitlyn Sadtler and Elizabeth Wayne. This material was published on August 17, 2021, it was viewed by 1800000 people, of which 39000 people marked «like»

The authors try to attract the attention of viewers thanks to the interrogative title and thereby asking a question that worries the majority of the world's population. They begin their video with the following statement –«Vaccine saves lives, fear endangers them» using such a technique as «contrast» and wordplay. Then they delve into the history of the creation of vaccines, showing how much time it took to develop, test and use. Using the example of a medical syringe where there are marks of time intervals, they demonstrated how the time for testing new vaccines against COVID-19 for general use has decreased. They associate it with the fact that this is the result of medical research over the past decades.

After a short excursion into the history of the creation of vaccines, using such a technique as a question heading, the speakers begin their explanation of how the new revolutionary vaccines work. For three minutes they tell the audience what vaccines are made of, how they act on the body and how they help protect it from the virus. Despite the fact that in the video the authors used a significant number of scientific medical terms and told about the example of the structure of cells and viruses, there was no effect called «information storm». This method provides a continuous flow of information, which was still there, but it did not cloud the person's consciousness, and he was able to adequately perceive what was happening. Thanks to the use of graphical presentation with animations, data is perceived by viewers faster and easier. In the end, they give an answer to their question – how can a vaccine be created in such a short time and provide people with «weapons that will help them win the war against diseases» («giving humanity a flexible new tool in the never-ending fight against diseases»).

Now let's turn to the comments that people left under this video (their total number is 5430). An impressive number of viewers thank the creators of this material and, in particular, the TED-Ed animators for their help in understanding such a flow of information («Can't stop praising TED-Ed animators and the whole team to make such an easy explanation of a deep and complex concept»). Consequently, the goal of the authors of the video was achieved, they were able to competently convey information to the audience using medical terms and illustrative examples. After watching this video people expressed gratitude for the objective presentation of information («If only every medical explanation could be made this simple. Thanks for your help, Ted-Ed») and for being able to understand how this vaccine works («This is a great explanation, really easy to follow»).

It is worth noting that after watching this video many people decided to take such a step as getting vaccinated and understood why it was needed. («I’m beginning to understand how vaccine can prevent COVID virus! I was just assumed that this is the same thing with other vaccines… That’s super! Matter of fact, I thought if we got an injection, we would get it done. I’m jittery about my future»). From this we can conclude that the speakers managed to convey the information in such a way that almost everyone received an answer to their question, understood how the vaccine could protect them, and decided to get vaccinated.

Let's turn to the video created by the World Health Organization. Despite the fact that this channel has more than 800000 subscribers on the YouTube platform, only 5459 people watched this video, of which only 48 put a «like» mark. Its name is «COVID–19 vaccines - Pandemica series: Horde». It was published on October 18, 2021.

This video is a kind of cartoon lasting 30 seconds about how the virus «attacks» people. In the end the authors use such a technique as a language game to interest listeners and make them think about the problem. «If the vaccine isn’t everywhere, this pandemic isn’t going anywhere». With this statement, they urge the population to think about the fact that until all residents are vaccinated against COVID-19, it will be impossible to get out of the global pandemic.

The comments that people left after watching this video are ambiguous. Only one of the 9 was «for» («trust the cartoon»). The rest reacted negatively to these videos («Non-sterilizing vaccines creates stronger virus variants», «The symbol for the WHO is a snake on a pole, yes a snake salesman"). From all the comments and numerous views, we can conclude that the authors failed to achieve the desired result. It can be assumed that this failure is due to the use of a silent cartoon without text. Most likely, people did not understand the basic message of the creators.

Let's turn to the video of the television company «60 Minutes» which shows investigative reports and interviews for 50 years, entering the top 10 Nielsen. It has more than 1.5 million subscribers on the YouTube platform. The title of the video is «All Types of COVID–19 Vaccines, How They Work, Animation». This material was published on December 21, 2020. During this time, 850000 people watched it, of which 8.7 thousand people marked it as «like»

The presenter begins his speech with an emotional impact on the audience, telling that more than 15000 of our family members, friends and neighbors fell ill with coronavirus infection last week. By providing such data, he introduces the population into a state of shock and fear. However, he goes on to say that thanks to the fact that the pharmaceutical company Pfizer started delivering doses of the vaccine, we can breathe a sigh of relief («... so we could hear a national sigh of relief when the pharmaceutical company Pfizer started delivering the first doses of its vaccine across the country»). After that, he says that now the government's goal is to deliver 20 million vaccinations to the population by the end of the year.

The author assures people that now is the time when it is possible to put an end to the pandemic. And it is possible only thanks to the revolutionary progress in biotechnology. Next, the presenter interviews the biotechnology scientist Catherine Jansen. She is the Head of Vaccine Research and Development at Pfizer which is based in New York. His question to her was that he called the vaccine a bet that was made to see if it would work. However, the scientist refuted such a name as a bet, since they do it not for testing, but to save people's lives.

Katherine Jansen emotionally affects the audience, «to spin emotions» when she tells that the scariest sight for her was that while walking the dog she saw one refrigeration unit after another in parking lots in front of hospitals. And they were morgues. («The most chilling thing for me was when we walked our dog and you see one refrigerated truck after the other, appearing in the parking lots in front of the hospitals. The refrigerated truck – morgues»). This prompted her to create a vaccine against COVID-19, and she wanted to fight against the virus.

Next, the presenter interviews scientists from BioNTech from Germany, in which they share how the idea of developing and creating a vaccine against a global pandemic came about. They said that there was no doubt about what they were creating. There was a fear – they might be late. After that they shared the history of the creation and testing the vaccine out.

After an excursion into the creation process, the authors of the video through a presentation show how vaccination can protect your body from coronavirus infection. The following data show that more than 44 thousand people volunteered to test the vaccination on themselves, thereby the authors manipulate the audience showing that this is the choice of the people.

The presenter finishes his video with the following phrase: «last week, when the USA the death toll from this pandemic hit 300 thousand, the bells of the National Cathedral in Washington rang 300 times, once for every thousand Americans killed by the virus; this vaccine was caused by a miracle».

Now let's turn to the comments, of which 3239 left by people after viewing this material, in order to find out whether the authors managed to achieve the goal they set for themselves. Most viewers thanked the creators of the video for the availability of the information and the opportunity to hear the opinion of scientists. The village is in a state of stress and anxiety from the unknown and misunderstanding of the way by which it is possible to get rid of the evil called COVID-19. They express gratitude to the creators of vaccines for the opportunity to be protected («Respect, this will save so many lives...Thank you, science!!»), («Thank you for all your hard work! Words cannot convey my gratitude for giving us hope»). Some even call the rest of the settlement not to be afraid and get vaccinated, informing that only with joint efforts we can influence the situation in the world. «Please get vaccinated if you haven't done it yet. It should no longer be a free choice, but the responsibility of each of us; vaccination is a noble gesture»).

However, there are also those who are wary of this vaccination, explaining that the effects of the vaccine have not yet been well studied and people are putting themselves at some kind of risk («As a 68 year old disabled Veteran with heart disease and diabetes I will definitely take the vaccine. But I am worried about the side effects that are unknown at this time»). The man received a response from one girl who says that her parents gave themselves this vaccine, and there were no side effects, and urges the man not to worry. («My parents had Biontech / Pfizer, no side effects except a sore arm. Don't be worried, take it. The absolute majority of side effects of a vaccine become apparent within weeks of the first shot»).

Based on the comments that were left by people under this video, we can conclude that the authors managed to influence people and convince them to get vaccinated. Perhaps they managed to achieve such an outcome by attracting well-known scientists who were able to convey important information to the audience.

The analysis of video sources indicates that all the authors in their works tried to influence the population using manipulation techniques, such as the effect of shock, contrast, repetition, «information storm» and information blockade. In order to make their headlines more attractive and attention-grabbing, they used a number of techniques, namely, pointing out something unusual or solving a problem, an interrogative title and a language game. In most cases, they managed to achieve the desired result. With the help of their work, they were able to convince the population to make a choice in favor of vaccination. Mostly people expressed gratitude to the creators of articles and videos for the availability of information and explanations of all the nuances. Consequently, the authors, thanks to such a tool as language, were able to influence human consciousness.

Let's turn to the German-language media and analyze how the authors tried to have the necessary impact on readers and viewers.

Let's start analyzing the first article posted on the website of the Federal Center for Medical Education (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung), a federal body within the competence of the Federal Ministry of Health of Germany. The article was published on February 3, 2023 in German, and soon it was translated into 14 languages of the world, including English, French, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Italian, Czech, Arabic and others

The title is highlighted in blue, which initially attracts the attention of readers to it. Take a look at his text - Die Corona-Schutzimpfung – wirksam und sicher! («The coronavirus vaccine is effective and safe!»). It is quite concise, but clearly articulates the author's thoughts. Thanks to its brevity, the reader will pay attention to it and read it to the end, which in the future will help him become interested in this article and read it to the end.

Next, let's look at the structure of the article, each new paragraph begins with the expected questions that readers may have, and the author, anticipating them, answers them in his article. Each question is highlighted in blue, which also brings structure to the work, makes it readable. Note the fact that important, in the author's opinion, answers and phrases are highlighted in the text in blue and underlined. These factors help readers immediately find answers to all the questions they are interested in. The second page shows a comic book in pictures about how the vaccination procedure goes. In our opinion, this causes additional confidence among the readers of this article as it removes their fear of being vaccinated.

In the first paragraph, the author says that vaccination against coronavirus infection is very important. This phrase is highlighted in bold, which shows its significance. Using the method of opposition, he first says that the disease itself sometimes proceeds without consequences but there are a sufficient number of cases with fatal outcomes. The author specifically creates fear in people in order to show how he can solve this problem – it is the vaccine that will help prevent this («COVID-19 ist nach der Impfung seltener tödlich. Die Impfung kann auch vor den Langzeitfolgen schützen»). The author initially «created» the problem in the eyes of readers, and then he led to ways to solve this problem.

In the second paragraph, the author uses such a manipulative technique as the «principle of priority» - he first talks about all the benefits of vaccination, how it helps, and only then mentions the side effects, thereby focusing only on the pros. This is how the effect of perception of primary information as truth works; this technique is called the «principle of priority». Initially, information is given about what this vaccine can save from («Das Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 löst die Krankheit COVID-19 aus… Die Corona-Schutzimpfung schützt davor, dass man schwer krank wird. Man muss dann seltener wegen COVID-19 ins Krankenhaus»). With this technique he dispels people's fears about vaccination.

In the following paragraphs, the author writes about who will benefit from this vaccine and who can use it («Wer kann sich impfen lassen?») and for whom there are special recommendations in connection with their state of health («Kinder, Schwangere ab der 13. Schwangerschaftswoche oder Stillende, Personen, die sich bereits mit dem Coronavirus angesteckt haben sowie, Risikogruppen, insbesondere Personen mit einer Immunschwäche»). Next, it describes where you can get vaccinated – at doctor’s surgery, in vaccination centers, in health departments, and even in some pharmacies, which indicates that a person can protect himself from the virus in any place convenient for him. It is emphasized and highlighted that vaccination is free («Die Impfung ist kostenlos»).

It is only at the end of the article that the author mentions that even vaccination will not guarantee protection against coronavirus infection. After it you will need to not forget about the hygiene of the disease – keep a distance, use a mask daily and air the premises. It is not by chance that the author says about it not at the beginning of his article but at the end, perhaps hoping that not all readers will read to the end. After all, most likely their attention will be attracted by a comic book with pictures on the next page.

These pictures show the reader the stages of human vaccination. The first photo shows the registration in anticipation of an explanatory conversation («Anmeldung»), then the waiting stage when you can get acquainted with the information, after which an explanatory conversation takes place («Aufklärungsgespräch»), the vaccination itself, the discharge of the sick leave and de-registration («Abmeldung»). With the help of this comic the author, firstly, attracted the attention of readers, and secondly, aroused their trust and removed their fears of getting vaccinated.

Let's turn to the comments after this article that readers have left on this site. Their total number is 17, among them only one negative, all the others expressed gratitude to the author of the article for clear explanation of the topic of vaccination that is of concern to all people at this time. Many noted that after reading, they made an important decision for them – to be vaccinated against coronavirus infection.

From all this, we can conclude that the author of the article managed to achieve his goal – to convince readers of the effectiveness of vaccination. In his article he was as accurate and concise as possible. He drew readers' attention to the fact that the vaccine saved a significant number of lives.

Let's turn to the video sources on the YouTube platform dedicated to the topic of COVID-19 vaccination. This site presents a significant number of videos on this topic which were published by television companies.

To begin with, let's analyze the video of the Bavarian Minister of the State Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (StMGP) Klaus Holechek, which was published on June 30, 2021 on the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Gesundheit und Pflege channel

In his address the author does not use any manipulative techniques, except for the use of an «opinion leader». Its essence lies in the fact that the manipulation of mass consciousness occurs due to the fact that during the commission of any actions, people are guided by the so-called opinion leaders. Klaus, being the Minister of Health in Bavaria, hoped that people would listen to him because of his expertise in this field and his place in politics.

In his video, he said that the pandemic is not over yet, and we all live in anticipation of the phase when life will become «normal» again. He emphasizes that despite the fact that the incidence is low, the vaccine is an important element, an act of solidarity («Die Inzidenz ist niedrig, aber Impfen ist tatäsachlich das zentale Element, ein Stück der Solidarität»). The minister mentions the fact that the vaccine will help not only you to protect yourself, but also to save others, those who are nearby. After that, he urges people to listen to his advice («Deswegen mein dringender Appell, lassen sie sich beraten» – that's why my urgent appeal is to get advice) – make an appointment and get vaccinated against coronavirus infection.

At the end of his address, he says that he is immensely happy when «we all continue to participate together to help overcome the pandemic, and only the vaccine is the key and decisive issue» (Und ich würde mich freuen, wenn wir gemeinsam weiter daran mitwirken, dass wir diese Pandemie gut überwinden und da ist Impfen tatsächlich das zentrale, entscheidende Thema). In this appeal, the author tries to show that only by the joint efforts of all the people in the state will we be able to cope with the pandemic – to get vaccinated. Despite the fact that it was not said openly, but veiled by the phrase that he is glad that this is what is happening, the meaning of his messages was exactly like this.

This video «Ja zur Impfung gegen das Coronavirus - Impfen ist ein Zeichen der Solidarität» has gained 1525 views, 7 likes and 63 comments (at the time of the appeal on 05/10/2023). Let's turn to the analysis of the comments that were left under the video, and find out whether the author managed to influence the consciousness of residents to get vaccinated without using almost any manipulative technique, or still this video can be considered a failure.

Unfortunately, out of all 63 comments left under this video, there is not a single positive one. People fiercely discuss his phrase about solidarity, completely disagreeing with it («Aus Solidarität zu den Menschen die sich nicht Impfen lassen wollen, lasse ich mich auch nicht Impfen», «Mann sollte auch solidarisch zu den Menschen sein die gegen eine Impfung sind», «Ich werde meinen Solidaritätsbeitrag mit der Impfung erst unter normalen Umständen leisten und wenn der Impfstoff sicher ist und lange genug erforscht wurde»). A particularly striking comment, in our opinion, was «Nein zu Druck, Zwang und unausteichender Aufklärung. Das hat rein gar nix mit Solidarität zu tun» – no pressure, coercion and vigilant enlightenment. This has nothing to do with solidarity.

One of the most popular comments is that vaccination not completely protects ourselves. In addition, in respiratory diseases, collective immunity may also be absent, now it is better to focus on protecting the risk group, and for this it is necessary to develop a new concept, because vaccination of this group is not enough («Außerdem kann es bei einer Atemwegserkrankung auch nicht zu einer HerdenImmunität kommen. Man sollte sich jetzt lieber darauf konzentrieren die Risikogruppe zu schützen und dafür muss ein neues Konzept her, denn diese Gruppe zu impfen reicht da nicht aus»). The rest of the comments were sent to accuse the author that people will never forget this, that they want to be maimed, and so on.

From all this, we can conclude that the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Bavaria, Klaus Holechek could not achieve his goal, but only received condemnation in his address. In our opinion, this could have happened precisely because in his video he did not use almost any manipulative technique that could help him influence the consciousness of the inhabitants of Bavaria and the whole of Germany. It turned out to be insufficient to use only one minor technique – the use of opinion leaders, he also chose the wrong tactics of conducting a conversation – a clear and ardent call to action, which only alienated people.

After analyzing the media discourse on COVID-19 vaccination in the German-language mass media, we came to the conclusion that most authors of articles and videos use some manipulative techniques that help them achieve their goals in many ways. However, not all of them skillfully use these techniques, and in some moments even overdo it, which only causes anger and negative comments from viewers or readers.

There are many approaches to the interpretation of the definition of «discourse». Throughout the history of the term «discourse», scientists have given their definitions to this concept. In our opinion, one of the most important is the definition that is presented in the Linguistic Encyclopedic Dictionary. «Discourse (from the French discours – speech) is a coherent text in combination with extralinguistic, pragmatic, socio–cultural, psychological and other factors, a text taken in the event aspect; speech, considered as a purposeful social action, as a component involved in the interaction of people and the mechanisms of their consciousness (cognitive processes)».

T. G. Dobrosklonskaja, one of the first in Russian linguistics, revealed the importance of highlighting a separate area of research – media linguistics.

Today, media linguistics is an independent scientific field with such separate components as methodology, theory, internal structure, terminological apparatus. The subject of media linguistics is the use of language in the media, as well as media speech, its forms and manifestations.

After analyzing and studying video and text sources, we came to the conclusion that all the authors in their works tried to influence the population using manipulation techniques, such as the effect of shock, contrast, repetition, «information storm» and information blockade. In order to make their headlines more attractive and attention-grabbing, they used a number of techniques, namely, pointing out something unusual or solving a problem, an interrogative title and wordplay. In most cases, they managed to achieve the desired result. With the help of their work they were able to convince the population to make a choice in favor of vaccination. Mostly people expressed gratitude to the creators of articles and videos for the availability of information and explanations of all the nuances. Consequently, the authors, thanks to such a tool as language, were able to influence human consciousness.

Thus, we have demonstrated the under study. Having analyzed the media texts on the topic of COVID-19 vaccination from the point of view of the socio-pragmatic aspect, we achieved the goal of the study. The tasks defined for the work were completed: the concepts of «discourse» and «media discourse» were studied, the discursive analysis of media objects was considered, with the help of which the analysis of English-language publications and video materials was carried out.