Language Strategies of Hostility in Media Discourse: Linguopragmatic and Cognitive Dimensions

O. Blashkiv, L. Kominiarska

Abstract


The purpose of the article is to identify, systematize and interpret the linguistic strategies of constructing hostility in contemporary media discourse, taking into account their linguopragmatic functions and cognitive mechanisms of influence, as well as to refine the typology based on materials from the Ukrainian and Russian media space of 2022–2026 in the context of the information war.

Research methodology. The methodological basis comprises the principles of critical discourse analysis, linguopragmatics and cognitive linguistics. The following methods were applied: critical discourse analysis (to identify strategies of constructing hostility), linguopragmatic analysis (to determine the types of speech acts), frame analysis (to reconstruct cognitive models), and content analysis (for quantitative verification of results).

The results. Five core strategies of constructing hostility were identified (dehumanization, demonization, stigmatization, exclusion of the «Other», and escalation of fear); their linguistic markers and cognitive mechanisms of realization were determined. It is established that the effectiveness of the strategies is ensured by three interrelated cognitive mechanisms – framing, conceptual metaphor and stereotyping – which form a cognitive triad operating primarily at the level of unconscious perception.

The novelty of the obtained results lies in the development of an integrative model for the analysis of hate speech that combines linguopragmatic and cognitive approaches, as well as in the refinement of the typology of linguistic strategies of its construction based on materials from the Ukrainian media discourse during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.

Practical significance. The results may be used in the field of media literacy, journalism education, the development of editorial standards and automated systems for detecting toxic content.

Key words: hate speech, media discourse, discursive strategies, framing, conceptual metaphor, stereotype, cognitive linguistics, information warfare.


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.32840/cpu2219-8741/2026.2(66).20

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