Journalist's Diction in Crisis Conditions: Communicative Determinants, Typical Language Deviations and Self-Correction Practices

Abstract

Introduction. The article presents the study of journalists' diction and intonational stability as fundamental tools of professional communication in the modern media space. The relevance of the topic is determined by the prevalence of audiovisual formats on digital platforms and the growing role of oral speech in crisis (extreme) conditions, in particular during the War for Ukraine's Independence, which is not only a tool for transmitting information, but also a factor in shaping the audience's trust in journalists in particular and the media in general, psychological stability of the information space and effective communication. It is emphasised that in extreme circumstances, high-quality pronunciation becomes a component of information security, as clear diction and a steady voice minimise the risks of misinterpretation of messages and help reduce the cognitive load on the audience. Methods. The methodological basis of the work is an integrative approach to the analysis of journalists' professional speech, combining linguistic, psycholinguistic and methodological dimensions of the study of diction in crisis conditions. A set of complementary methods was used: theoretical analysis and generalisation, the method of observation and content analysis, the classification method, the modelling method. Results and discussion. The empirical basis of the study was the analysis of live broadcasts of the 'Single Marathon', on the basis of which typical speech errors of journalists in stressful situations were identified: increased volume (intensity) of the voice, as if the journalist is trying to 'shout over' someone; accelerated speech tempo without necessary pauses for meaning, unclear pronunciation of words (emotional articulation deformation); speech fragmentation (short unfinished or interrupted phrases, violation of logical and semantic connections between phrases); inconsistency of tone with the content of the message. It is established that the emotional arousal of a journalist under the influence of stress factors directly affects the prosodic parameters of the voice, which the listener easily 'decodes', and this can have various unpredictable consequences (for example, panic). Based on the analysis of scientific literature and observations of the speech of journalists and correspondents on live broadcasts, a checklist for self-assessment of a journalist's diction is compiled, which combines characteristics of diction, psychophysiological stability and communicative clarity, accessibility of speech and allows students and beginning journalists to self-reflect on articulation clarity, orthoepic normativity, tempo-rhythmic stability, and vocal endurance. Each section of the checklist contains specific questions for verification. It is concluded that stable diction is not only a matter of academic standards, but also a way to ensure a journalist's professional longevity. The introduction of such methods into the educational components of journalism curricula will make it possible to train specialists capable of maintaining high-quality communication in the most difficult acoustic and psychological conditions. The results obtained confirm the need for systematic work on diction as an important element of a journalist's professional competence.