SOCIAL BIAS IN THE CONSTRUAL OF NATURAL OBJECTS AND EVENTS: COURTEOUS CROWS AND SELFLESS CEPHALOPODS

SOCIAL BIAS IN THE CONSTRUAL OF NATURAL OBJECTS AND EVENTS: COURTEOUS CROWS AND SELFLESS CEPHALOPODS

Author:  O.K. Iriskhanova

Affiliation:  Moscow State Linguistic University (Moscow, Russia)

Abstract:  The paper focuses on verbal and non-verbal (visual) means used in mass media discourse to construe objects and events of nature. The author argues that when we construe natural events both conceptually and linguistically, we tend to attribute human social values, beliefs, roles and patterns of behaviour to animals, plants, natural elements and forces. This ability to conceptualize entities belonging to nature from the point of view grounded in the social frame of reference is called social bias. Relying on the notions of Viewpoint, Viewer and Vantage Point, the author analyses written mass media texts about natural phenomena to show that the way the social bias is manifested crossmodally depends on the social role of the Viewer and the conceptual distance (spatial, temporal, intellectual, emotional) between the Viewer and the Object.
Generally, the more involved the Viewer is, the more socially biased is his/her point of view in the construal of the events of nature. On the linguistic level, the difference between the two types of construal – the socially biased and the socially neutral one, can lead to differences in the use of tense forms, deictic words, modality and direct vs. reported speech. The visual component of the multimodal text (photos) contributes to the construal of the objects and events of nature by introducing or supporting the main viewpoint, or by blending several viewpoints.

Keywords:  social cognition, social bias, viewpoint, observer, vantage point

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Pages:  5-12