The Language of Critical Reflection and the Construction of Social Relations (Based on the Example of a Video Review)

Abstract

The author of this article analyses the texts of a video review and tries to answer the question of whether the choice of linguistic devices is linked to the relationship between the sender and the participants of the interaction. The indicators of this relationship are sought by discussing the pragmatic, compositional and stylistic aspect of a new and popular form of critical discourse on a social networking site. The interpretation of the spoken narrative includes a discussion of the linguistic means of evaluation, the determinants of the emotional message and the functions of colloquial lexis. Linguistic activities aimed at interaction with the recipients, such as dialogicality, the personalisation of content and the individualisation of the message, are also important. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the form of self-presentation, type of recipient, channel of communication, and intentionality and heterogeneity of the statements are closely related to the social relations between the participants of the act of communication. The new form of presentation and evaluation involves entering a different communication situation and establishing new social relations with a group of recipients. The aim is not only to evaluate the film work, but also the conveyance of emotions, the dialogue with the viewer, the interest in a new work, the shaping of tastes and the attracting of a large audience. Such an elaborate goal inevitably leads to a change in linguistic devices.