The course “Language of modern advertising and mass media” is designed for a wide range of listeners interested in understanding the language problems of modern media and advertising and, possibly, engaged in journalism, PR, advertising. The course gives a comprehensive introduction to contemporary trends in the development of advertising and mass media language.
About the course
The aim of the course is to illuminate different aspects in the current state of advertising and media language. For this purpose the following problems are solved. Aspects of language culture and normative stylistics are used to comprehend the transformations in the contemporary American language reflected in the language of mass media. From the point of view of communicative stylistics the author’s communication peculiarities and the author’s speech strategies are studied. Attention is focused on the author’s general strategy of persuasion, and on the manipulation which is actively used in mass media and advertising. In terms of linguistic and vivostylistic the linguistic (language game) and speech techniques (quoting, use of precedent texts), typical for modern media and advertising, are explained. The author considers typical mistakes in the language of mass media, as well as manifestations of speech aggression, typical for media communication.
Format
Form of training by correspondence (distance learning). Weekly classes will include thematic video-lectures, study of additional materials and performance of test tasks with automated checking of results and testing on the studied material. To receive a certificate, you must complete all assignments, tests and write the final exam.
Requirements
This course requires that students have a liberal arts education and a basic knowledge of linguistic terminology.
Course program
- Language of journalism and standard of literary language
- Current processes in contemporary language 2
- The author and target audience in the modern media
- Rhetorical modality of media texts. Linguistic and speech techniques of persuasion
- Manipulative technologies in texts of mass media. Linguistic and speech techniques of manipulation
- Speech organization of a modular advertising text. Manipulative techniques in advertising.
- Linguistic-linguistic techniques in advertising and media texts
- Citation and precedence of texts of advertising and media
- Typical mistakes in the language of advertising and media
- Linguistic and speech aggression in the media. Black PR
Course outcomes
The result of the course is that students will acquire knowledge of the most prominent linguistic features of new media and advertising; students will develop skills to analyze various linguistic and speech phenomena in advertising and media texts.
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
- analyze media texts based on their research goals.
- Identify and interpret linguistic phenomena in advertising and media texts.
- Analyze processes and trends in the contemporary media sphere.
Skills
Upon completion of the course, students will know:
- basic terminology in the field.
- Information about the key trends and directions of development of the modern media.
- methods of analyzing the language of the media.
