Kyrgyz Readers’ Perception of Precedent Phenomena Used in Kyrgyz Internet Media

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the universal and national precedent phenomena representation in the Kyrgyz internet media. The purpose of the paper is to show how universal and national precedent phenomena are represented in the media and perceived by Kyrgyz readers. An attempt is made to point out if the national and universal precedent phenomena used by journalists in online newspapers are known to ordinary representatives of the Kyrgyz community. To reach the purpose put forward, Internet media contents published over the last ten years were studied. Many popular Internet media, ranging from information-entertainment portals like super.kg to the world’s leading public service broadcasters like bbc.com were investigated. Eight text fragments that included four different kinds of national and universal precedent phenomena were then chosen. A structured questionnaire was distributed to various WhatsApp groups. Based on the survey results filled out by 100 respondents, the findings were developed. Descriptive, online survey and data analysis methods were employed to achieve the stated goals. The fact that the three precedent phenomena of national and universal layers included in the survey got less than 50% proves that precedent phenomena are not just lexical units but mental constructs consisting of factual, axiological, and evaluative components. Still, a lot depends on the background knowledge and cognitive base of the recipients. It can be concluded that the complex nature of precedent phenomena should be taken into consideration, and they should be studied within many disciplines like cognitive linguistics, linguacultural studies, and text and discourse theory.