Conflict Discourse Behavior in Russian Figure Skating Media Text: A Double Case Analysis

In linguistics, conflict studies promote communicative tolerance and conflict-free communication in different discursive practices. Sport has a competitive nature, which makes it a conflict-prone area. Sport-related online media texts engage a wide range of users into sports conflicts. This article analyzes a set of online media texts that featured a post-competition conflict between famous figure skating coaches. To define the linguistic features of conflict speech behavior in online media texts about figure skating, the authors studied conflict statements made by Evgeni Plushenko and Sofia Fedchenko, as well as related comments from other coaches, figure skaters, and sports officials. The method of double case analysis proposed by E. S. Kara-Murza makes it possible to examine multi-stage conflicts that receive a new development vector in social media. The analysis of the figure skating conflict covered 13 parameters described by E. S. Kara-Murza. The speech genres of conflict communication included blackmail, reproach, accusation, and trash talk. The speech behavior was analyzed for linguistic means and techniques of aggressive communication. The comments made by indirect participants were classified by topic and examined for speech means of destructive behavior. The media text analysis revealed the course of the conflict development, as well as the extralinguistic contexts and linguistic means of aggressive speech behavior that contributed to its escalation at each stage.