Polydiscursiveness as means of mainstreaming knowledge about events

The present paper is devoted to the interaction of various discourses within the framework of American media discourse based on the material of the online version of the “National Geographic” journal. Currently, media discourse has a polydiscursive character, which is determined by the intention and pragmatic goals of journalists. The inclusion of signs from other discourses leads to the fact that they implement knowledge from various areas of human life in the recipient’s mind, which is important for representing the main event discussed in the article. The relevance of the research is due to the impact of combined discourse on the reader’s persuasion process. The authors address the process of knowledge mainstreaming that occurs as a result of the inclusion of signs from other discourses in the media discourse. The purpose of the study is to analyze linguistic signs belonging to different discourses and representing an object from the point of view of another discourse or representing another situation related to another discourse. The research used the methods of discourse analysis and cognitive analysis. The authors come to a conclusion that poly-discursiveness in media discourse can manifest itself in two main forms: either when the same object or event is represented in the focus of, as a rule, two different discourses; in this case, each of the represented discourses transmits “its own” specific knowledge about this object or event, produced and existing in discourses based on their inherent communication methods or practices; or when the signs of different discourses within the media text represent other events related to the main one through common components (for example, “PLACE”), and also transmit “their” knowledge, but about other events and objects. Thus, we deal with a two-focus or adjacent representation of an object or event. This indicates the complex, multifaceted nature of media discourse, which not only creates a certain model of reality, but also represents any event occurring in it as connected and conditioned by the influence of other subjects, objects and events.