Pragmatic vector of verbalized aggression within internet mediated communication: textual context dimension

Research on aggressive speech behavior, realized through Internet mediatedcommunication, faceswith the problem ofhighlightingmessages that are trulyaggressive, that means a person hasintention ofdoing harm to other person (in case ofwritten communication on social networksites, it ispsychological harm). The task of identifying a real aggressor turns even more difficult once a response to speech provocation is presented in form of responsive aggression. In this case the respondent’s intention differs from the desire to do harm. Since speech provocation and speech response are given in the same form, from a bystander’s perspective, both actions are perceived as aggressive. It mayseem that the attacker and the victim alternately play the role of the aggressor. To solve the problem of identifying the true aggressor by speech production, it becomes significant to reconstruct the framework of a particular communicative situation. The present research project focuses on the distinction between verbalization of offensive (provocative) and defensive (responsive) types ofaggression, which makes it possibleto fix the scheme ofinteraction between interlocutorswhileswitching the roles of theaggressor andthe victim. In the course ofan experiment on written verbalization ofaggression realized on thesocial network site VKontakte, based on perceptual method and linguistic pragmatics approaches, 20 respondents evaluate stimuli material (10 samples in Russian language without textual context and with pre- and post-textual contexts). It was revealed that the narrow context surrounding a speech message is significant in defining the aggressor: namely, the presence of textual pre- and post-contexts in the form of messages provoking the verbalization of defensive aggression.