Distinctive features of the temporal system of moral discourse exemplified in German-language media texts

Abstract

This research is devoted to studying the specifics of the moral discourse temporal system of German-language media. Moral discourse is a specific means for the functioning of morality in a language. The study considers moral discourse to be a complex communicative phenomenon reflecting the basic elements of moral consciousness. Moral discourse is built at all levels of language. One of the linguistic ways of expressing moral discourse, which is found at the grammatical level of the texts, is temporality. It is proven that the temporal space of discourse is organised with prepositions, demonstrative pronouns, adjectives, participles, cardinal and ordinal numerals, adverbs of time and conjunctions. They contribute to the chronologically detailed reproduction of the sequence of events and create a sense of reality, as well as simulate the documentary account of events. The temporal distinctiveness of moral discourse emphasizes the continuing role of morality: its rules and regulations can be applied to past, present, and future. In the temporal system of moral discourse, the present tense plays the prevailing role, even when describing events that took place in the past. This fact suggests that moral norms are acknowledged to be of timely character and continuing value.