CC BY
2íE Natalia A. Kontsevaya
кандидат филологических наук, старший преподаватель департамента массовых коммуникаций и медиабизнеса, Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации
Ленинградский пр-т., 49, Москва, 125167 E-mail: [email protected]
Analyzing the Audience's Attitude to The Event by Compiling a Semantic Core
The attitude of the audience to an event can be checked by analyzing the vocabulary that representatives of this audience use when discussing the event we are interested in. The number and characteristics of words (connotation) make it possible to determine an individual's perception of any phenomenon, which is extremely important at a time when the opinion of one person can influence a group of people. In addition, the presence of words with marketing potential in the thesaurus of the audience allows us to assume the presence of needs and can be useful for business development. This study suggests a way to compile such a thesaurus in relation to any event by forming a semantic core through an expert audience survey. The coronavirus pandemic was taken as an example of an event that changed the thesaurus of the society. An expert survey of three different age groups allowed us to compile three semantic cores of 10 words each, which correspond to the most frequently used words associated with the coronavirus. This vocabulary was analyzed for evaluative connotations and marketing potential. In conclusion, it was found that the applied method of compiling the semantic core can be effective due to the low cost and the ability to quickly process the data obtained from the results of the study. However, its representativeness is limited due to the small size of the audience available for conducting this type of survey.
Keywords: lexis, thesaurus, pandemic, coronavirus, semantic core.
For citation: Kontsevaya N.A. Analyzing the Audience's Attitude to The Event by Compiling a Semantic Core. Issues of Media Business, 2022, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 24-29. DOI: 10.24412/3034-1930-2022-0120
Концевая Наталья Александровна
Candidate of Philological Sciences,
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Mass Communications and Media Business, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation
Leningradsky Ave., 49, Moscow, 125167 E-mail: [email protected]
Анализ отношения аудитории к событию путем составления семантического ядра
Отношение аудитории к какому-либо событию можно оценить с помощью анализа лексики, которую представители данной аудитории используют, обсуждая интересующее нас событие. Количество и характеристики слов оценочных коннотаций позволяют определить восприятие индивидуумом любого явления, что крайне важно в период, когда мнение одного человека может оказать влияние на группу людей. Кроме этого, наличие в тезаурусе аудитории слов с маркетинговым потенциалом позволяет предполагать присутствие потребностей и может быть полезно для развития бизнеса. Данное исследование предлагает способ составление такого тезауруса применительно к любому событию путем формирования семантического ядра через экспертный опрос аудитории. В качестве примера события, которое внесло изменение в тезаурус общества, была взята пандемия коронавируса. Экспертный опрос трех разных возрастных групп позволил составить три семантических ядра из 10 слов в каждом, которые соответствуют наиболее частым в употреблении словам, связанным с коронавирусом. Данная лексика была проанализирована на предмет оценочных коннотаций и маркетингового потенциала. В заключении было установлено, что примененный способ составления семантического ядра может быть эффективен за счет небольшой стоимости и возможности для быстрой обработки полученных по результатам исследования данных. Однако его репрезентативность ограничена, ввиду малого размера аудитории, доступной для проведения опроса такого типа.
Ключевые слова: лексика, тезаурус, пандемия, коронавирус, семантическое ядро.
JEL Classification: L82
Для цитирования: Концевая Н.А. Анализ отношения аудитории к событию путем составления семантического ядра // Вопросы медиабизнеса. 2022. Т. 1. № 2. С. 24-29. DOI: 10.24412/3034-1930-2022-0120
Introduction
Large-scale events taking place in the world have a noticeable impact on human vocabulary. For
example, the coronavirus pandemic affected the language, provoking the appearance of neologisms,
the replacement of the meaning of words, and much more [Primakov, Sautina, 2018. P. 161]. At the same time, the coronavirus changes over time, and in parallel, the attitude towards it changes too. People have fewer fears, for example [Goodbye COVID-19?..]. So the language, the words we use to talk about coronavirus, have also changed over the past few years. The observed trend is associated with a decrease in negative evaluative words in favor of neutral ones [Frost, 2006. P. 48].
The vocabulary used by a person reflects his attitude to any event, so regular language cross-sections allow you to assess public opinion without conducting surveys. And if, with a direct question about the attitude to what is happening, a person is able to give an answer that does not reflect his real attitude. Then, when analyzing the vocabulary used regarding a certain event, it is possible to obtain an open assessment.
The topic of the impact of events on vocabulary, as well as the emotional connotations of words, is being developed by many experts. In Russia there are several experts, N.N. Boldyrev, E.I. Golovanova consider the cognitive functions of language [Boldyrev, 2018], words as units of a semantic system are studied by linguists A.A. Ufimtseva [1967], M.M. Chigasheva [2002], experts I.M. Kobozeva [2000], E.V. Ivanova [Golovanova, Madzhaeva, 2020. P. 40].
The collection of vocabulary that is suitable for analysis can be carried out both by processing publicly available content (for example, texts of influencers' posts and comments from their subscribers; media materials), and by the way proposed in this article — based on specially collected words from participants in an expert survey. This method is effective with low cost and fast processing of the data obtained from the results of the study. However, its representativeness is limited due to the small size of the audience available for conducting this type of survey.
Our proposed method of collecting data for conducting vocabulary analysis is a way of compiling the semantic core of an event.
A semantic core is a term that has no definition in an explanatory dictionary, but there are many explanations of its meaning on the Internet. According to one of them, the semantic core is a structured database of keywords that most fully characterizes the type of activity, goods or services presented on the site from the point of view of promotion on the Internet.
Currently, the term "semantic core" is used in a broad sense in the field of marketing when it comes to words characterizing an object or process. At the same time, these keywords are reference "milestones" in the perception of the text by the audience.
The semantic core may consist of a different number of keywords, but even with a small sample of them, they provide an opportunity to get into the essence of the subject or process and assess the attitude of the audience towards it. Since the vocabulary that a person uses to describe an event speaks about the individual's attitude to the event itself.
As an example for compiling a semantic core, let's take the coronavirus pandemic, which has had a significant impact on the language of society.
Methodology of the research
When forming the semantic core of the site, the selection of keywords is based on the frequency of queries collected from search engine statistics. We will use an expert survey, which will allow us to more accurately compose the core for the designated task: fixing the audience's attitude to the coronavirus pandemic through the lexis used. We will allow the audience to act as a self-regulator and independently identify those words (and create their own thesaurus) that, in their opinion, are most closely related to the pandemic.
Such a "semantic core" will allow us to see, firstly, the words that have entered our language in conjunction with the coronavirus, secondly, to look at the number of neutral, negatively and positively colored words associated with the pandemic, and thirdly, to assess the marketing potential of such a thesaurus.
For the purpose of the study, an expert survey of people from three different age groups was conducted. Based on the results of this survey, three semantic kernels were compiled. Keywords inside the core are analyzed, their evaluative connotation is determined [Frost, 2006] and the degree of probability of using them for marketing purposes.
The survey involved 30 people of three age groups: 18-22 years old, 28-32 years old, 58-62 years
old.
The sample of the survey participants was conducted according to a single indicator — age (to separate the respondents into three groups). Other sample indicators were not taken into account, since
the expert survey was conducted not to assess the all-Russian attitude to the coronavirus pandemic, but for experimental purposes: is the method of collecting the semantic core (short descriptive thesaurus) effective by interviewing the audience, as well as: how this semantic core (thesaurus) is suitable for further research.
All 90 survey participants named 10 words or phrases that they associate with the coronavirus pandemic.
Out of 900 words, 10 were selected for each age group according to the degree of frequency. Below are three tables with these words. The words in the table are distributed from the most common to the least common.
The survey period is November-December 2021.
Results of the research
By the end of 2021, during the survey period, the coronavirus pandemic was a part of routine for Russians for about 22 months. From fear and denial, people have come to accept life in these conditions. Presumably, the attitude of people was influenced by both the advent of vaccination and proven treatment methods (which allowed Russians to feel more protected) and a decrease in mortality from coronavirus [Goodbye COVID-19?..].
Let's turn to the list of words by groups. First, let's look at table 1 for the first age group.
Table 1 — 10 words of the first age group (18-22 years old)
# Word in Russian Word in English
1 маска masque
2 дистант remote working
3 локдаун lockdown
4 вакцинация vaccination
5 QR-код Qr-code
6 перчатки gloves
7 ПЦР-тест PCR test
8 одиночество loneliness
9 семья family
10 сериалы TV series
Source: compiled by the author
As we can see, the first age group has in its semantic core all the words characteristic of the so-called "dictionary of the era" of the coronavirus [Golovanova, Madzhaeva, 2020. P. 48]: masks, gloves, QR code, PCR test.
This confirms, firstly, that the pandemic has influenced our vocabulary, creating stable connections, associations: "coronavirus = masks", "coronavirus = PCR test". Secondly, it indicates the high frequency of the use of these words both in the media, as well as their broadcasts on other channels (for example, advertising), which consolidated the above-mentioned links.
So, out of 10 words, the following 7 words, presumably, have stable links with the coronavirus, these are: mask, lockdown, gloves, PCR test, QR code, vaccination and remote control. These words have a neutral connotation and do not carry additional semantic loads.
The remaining 3 words are of the greatest interest, since they are not directly related to the pandemic, but are a reflection of the perception of the youth (participants in the expert survey) of the current situation. These are the words: loneliness, family, TV series.
The word "loneliness" has a negative connotation, but this internal condition is widespread among young people and may not be related to the coronavirus pandemic. This word only reflects this social phenomenon and corresponds to the age of the respondents [Primakov, Sautina, 2018. P. 245].
The word "family" has a positive evaluative connotation, and from the point of view of socio-historical connotation, "family" means "mental/spiritual affection/closeness, support, care" in the language. Presumably, the 18-22 year old young people participating in the survey needed support during the coronavirus pandemic, which had an impact on their vocabulary.
The word "series" has a neutral evaluative connotation and tells us about the leisure format that was widespread during the coronavirus pandemic due to restrictions on movement and participation in social activities. This word also has marketing potential, namely, it tells us about the needs of this age 27 group — the needs for a certain format of video content (not movies, but TV series).
To summarize: for the age group of 18-22 years, out of 10 words of the semantic core of the coronavirus pandemic, 8 words have a neutral evaluative connotation, 1 word has a positive evaluative connotation ("family") and 1 word has a negative evaluative connotation ("loneliness"). Consider table 2 for the second age group.
Table 2 — 10 words of the second age group (28-32 years old)
# Word in Russian Word in English
1 маски masque
2 ограничения restrictions
3 страх fear
4 семья family
5 тревога worry
6 вино wine
7 неопределенность uncertainty
8 смерть death
9 вакцинация vaccination
10 дача country house
Source: compiled by the author
In the second age group of 28-32 years, the semantic core of the coronavirus pandemic also contains words characteristic of the "dictionary of the era" of the coronavirus: masks and vaccination. However, these words are only two out of ten (the previous age group has seven out of ten such words).
At the same time, the number of evaluative words characterizing the respondent's attitude to the event increases significantly: restrictions, fear, worry, uncertainty, death. And if "restrictions" may have a neutral evaluative connotation reflecting reality (in the period November-December 2021, the requirement for mandatory wearing of masks, the presence of a QR code for visiting public places, etc.), then the words "fear", "worry", "uncertainty", "death" have a negative the evaluative connotation.
From this semantic core, three words have a neutral and positive connotation: family, country house, wine.
The word "family", as we discussed earlier, is spiritual closeness, support. However, for the age of 28-32, "family" can mean responsibility, which appears in the generation of thirty-year-olds and generates feelings of anxiety and fear in them during the global pandemic.
Concern for the safety of your family, as well as restrictions on movement during the pandemic, provokes relatives to move to the country. Presumably, this is how the word "country house" appears in the semantic core.
The word "wine" is similar to the word "TV series" in another age group has a neutral emotional connotation and reflects a way of spending leisure time. It is also worth noting that the words "country house" and "wine" have marketing potential that reflects the interests of this audience.
To summarize: in the age group of 28-32 years, out of 10 words of the semantic core, only four words (cottage, wine, masks, vaccination) turned out to be emotionally neutral. The other six words mostly have a negative emotional connotation, with the exception of the positive word "family".
Let's look at the table below for the third age group.
Table 1 — 10 words of the third age group (58-62 years old)
# Word in Russian Word in English
1 страх fear
2 маски masque
3 дистанция distance
4 вакцинация vaccination
5 недоверие mistrust
6 температура temperature
7 болезнь illness
8 здоровье health
9 антитела antibodies
10 ограничения restrictions
Source: compiled by the author
In the third age group (58-62 years old), four words correspond to the "dictionary of the era" of the coronavirus: masks, distance, vaccination, antibodies. These words are emotionally neutral. The words "health", "temperature" and "illness" are also neutral and, in the context of this survey, can be included in the dictionary of the coronavirus era.
The remaining three words have a negative emotional connotation: fear, mistrust, restrictions, and they reflect the perception of this age group of the pandemic situation.
This group does not have positively colored words in the semantic core.
To summarize: for the age group of 58-62 years, out of 10 words of the semantic core, 7 words have a neutral connotation, and 3 (2) words have a neutral evaluative connotation. There are no words with marketing potential.
Conclusion
Analyzing public opinion about an event is extremely important in the era of communication without barriers, when the perception of what is happening by one person is broadcast to the masses using messengers and social networks.
The vocabulary used in broadcasting one's opinion often does not contain direct messages, but its emotional connotation can affect the audience (with or without intention).
The analysis of vocabulary collected through an expert survey and framed into a semantic core has great potential, as it allows you to quickly assess the audience's attitude to an event based on only 10 words. Regular research (like this one) can help to observe changes in the perception of a phenomenon under the influence of mass media and other forms of communication with society.
In addition, these semantic cores will be valuable for marketers, as they contain words indicating the audience's needs for something (in the case of the presented research, these are the words "TV series", "wine", "country house").
We consider it possible to recommend the compilation of a semantic core by collecting data through expert surveys to analyze the audience's attitude to current geopolitical events and other changes.
References
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Frost S.G. Linguistic and cultural aspect of the study of connotations: using the example of connotations of nouns of the thematic group "family". Dissertation for the degree of candidate of philological sciences. Chelyabinsk, 2006. (In Russian)
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