The use of evaluative abstract nouns in political and media discourse on the European Union: a Corpus linguistic study

Abstract

Evaluative language may be defined as the linguistic means by which a speaker or writer expresses an attitude towards a particular proposition or entity. ‘Signaling nouns’ are abstract nouns, like fact, idea, and result, where specific meaning in a text depends on the context they are used in. Some such nouns also carry inherently evaluative weight; to characterize a situation as a crisis rather than, say, a concern is to make an evaluative judgment.
The potential for nouns to carry evaluative meaning has been noted in studies of evaluation and the evaluative force of some signaling nouns has been noted in studies seeking to define this potential sub-class of nouns, but no comprehensive study has yet been undertaken of what may be termed ‘Evaluative Signaling Nouns.’ Given that, in the field of Automated Sentiment Analysis, it has also been suggested that that nouns are particularly significant in the expression of sentiment in political discourse, this represents a significant gap in current literature which my study seeks to address.
Contested British membership of the EU offers an ideal and timely context in which to base this study. Furthermore, given that ideological bias in media representations has been considered significant in influencing public acceptance of EU membership, a comparative study of Evaluative Signaling Nouns used in the European Parliament, by the British Government and in British Newspapers will be undertaken.