Lexical-semantic Field "Migration" in Contemporary British News Discourse: Semantic and Quantitative Dimensions through Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

 The study addresses the issue of how Middle East migration is linguistically represented and conceptualised in contemporary British news discourse by means of lexical-semantic fields. The main aim of the study is to model the lexical-semantic field “MIGRATION” in order to identify how its internal hierarchical structure reflects and reinforces ideological attitudes and discursive patterns related to Middle East migrants. The academic importance of the study is defined by its contribution to the integration of lexical semantics and critical discourse analysis. The study is practically important since it contributes to uncover mechanisms through which mass media shapes the public perception of migrants and migration. The study applies corpus-assisted modelling of lexical-semantic field and critical discourse analysis, which involved corpus compilation, the search of 37 contextual synonyms to the core noun of the field, the lexical-semantic field frequency-based modelling, and the interpretation of the data. The findings reveal that the nucleus of the field is represented by lexical items directly denoting migration, its core participants, and notions of temporary residence. The perinuclear zone is represented  by lexical items denoting legal and administrative frameworks, statistical markers and transportation, while the periphery is represented by notions of movement, crossing the border, statistical markers, and common abstract nouns. The analysis demonstrates that migration is often framed as a regulated, quantifiable, negative and problem-oriented phenomenon, whereas migrants are often depersonalised by the regular use of statistical markers and metonymic substitutions resulting in the reduction of migrants’ agency. The study demonstrates that the hierarchical structure of the studied lexical-semantic field reflects the discursive model in which migration is associated with crisis, regulation, illegality. The current study contributes to the field by addressing the linguistic means by which Middle East migrants are represented in the discourse and by providing a framework for further studies.