Mityagina V.A., Novikova E.Yu. Presentational Discourse: Prototypical Characteristics of Texts in the Linguacultural Dimension

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2025.4.11

Vera A. Mityagina

Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor, Department of Translation Studies and Linguistics, Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russia

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3997-3139

Elina Yu. Novikova

Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Associate Professor, Acting Head of the Department of Translation Studies and Linguistics, Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russia

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4442-9071

Abstract. The article examines presentational discourse as a "superstructural" type of discourse that is influenced by all current trends in the development of modern communicative space. The study explores two widespread yet pragmatically opposing approaches to self-presentation in web space: 1) the presentational content of linguistic universities in Russia, Belarus, and Germany, shaped by similar discourse agents sharing common objectives; 2) the presentational content of two global websites (in English and German) and a local one (in Russian) of the multinational company Bayer AG. The aim of the research is to identify prototypical characteristics of presentational texts through a comparative analysis of linguacultural topics and issues. The study of the linguosemiotic space of linguistic universities revealed that the dominant thematic focus of their presentational content is multilingualism as a defining feature of their specialized educational programs, along with references to technical resources, prestige, membership in organizations and research activities. The primary linguistic means in university presentational content include intertextuality, simple syntax, epithets, and first- and second-person pronouns. In contrast, the multilingual self-presentation of transnational corporations is characterized by the obligatory inclusion of thematic dominants across all versions of their official website depending on the linguacultural and sociopragmatic features of each language version. Multilingual presentational discourse demonstrates the signs of deglobalization, where, alongside content equivalence in global versions, transcreation techniques are extensively employed in localized versions to align with the values of the target linguacultural continuum.

Key words: presentational discourse, multilingual website, self-presentation, linguistic pragmatics, university discourse, cross-cultural analysis.

Citation. Mityagina V.A., Novikova E.Yu. Presentational Discourse: Prototypical Characteristics of Texts in the Linguacultural Dimension. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 2. Yazykoznanie [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. Linguistics], 2025, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 132-146. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2025.4.11

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