Cognitive and discourse tactics of sports event representation in the news text: diachronich approach

The paper is devoted to the comparison of linguistic means of sports event description in two English news text corpora, belonging to different historical periods. It is aimed at revealing the peculiarities of implementing such cognitive and discursive tactics as accuracy, reliability, heroisation and glorification in representation of a socially significant event in British media discourse. News reports on sporting events at the Olympic Games held in London in 1908 and 1948 were chosen as the object of the study. The research is focused on linguistic techniques of nominating sports events, the central constituent of which is the participants - athletes. Different means of informing, containing personal data descriptors, such as proper noun, age, profession, sports results, were identified in the process of text analysis. The use of sportsman and sports event heroisation and glorification tactics is traced back to 1908. By 1948 they became the linguistic characteristics of an English sports report. The tactics of the athlete glorification enables the formation of a socially significant person image. It is represented in enthusiastic descriptions of such forms of sports events as the Opening and Awards Ceremonies, competitions. The novelty of the results achieved is accounted for the use of historical and discursive analysis technique, which considers the peculiarities of sports event representation, as well as its major constituent - the athlete - in the media. The analysis of text corpora, belonging to different historical periods, helped to reveal the dynamics of sports event representation tactics.