Lexical pragmatic indicators of conflictogenicity in the light of the manifestation of national communication style (based on Mexican and US mass media)

Abstract

The lexical pragmatic indicators of conflictogenicity peculiar to Mexican and US media discourse were selected by means of a continuous sampling method from the articles published in 2021-2024 in American (CNN, The Fox News, The New York Times, The New York Post, Los Angeles Times - 100 articles) and Mexican (La Jornada, La Opinion, Excélsior, El Universal, El Milenio - 100 articles) online newspapers. All the analyzed articles are devoted to the migration crisis, which is a common problem of these countries. For the first time, the correlation between the conflict potential index of the text, the density of linguoconflictogens used and the peculiarities of the linguoculture of the ethnic group was established. According to the results, Mexican mass media is characterized by a significantly lower conflict potential index of the text compared to US publications: the density of the lexical pragmatic indicators of the conflict potential is not only lower but in fact lexical units with strong negative semantics are rarely used. The authors of Mexican online publications avoid using such stylistic means of "situation pumping" as hyperbolisation which is so common for US mass media. Metaphors are practically not used in Mexican press either. It is important to note that while the American media discourse is dominated by the extremely negative image of migrants as criminals and terrorists, the Mexican media presents two different types of migrants: the rich arrogant white-skinned trouble-provoking alien and the Latino brother who needs help and protection. The study's perspectives include a comparison of the conflict potential index of user-generated content in these countries and the compilation of a typology of the lexical pragmatic indicators of the conflict potential used.