Information on the thesis

The thesis focuses on the topical study of the linguocultural, text-forming and
gender characteristics of the English and German reviews in film criticism. In the given
work the review in film criticism is defined as a critical response to a work of
cinematography that reflects linguocultural characteristics of the conceptualization of
reality in the field of cinematographic activity. The intention of the author of the review in
film criticism as the main text-forming factor determines the implementation of
communicative strategies, tactics and the selection of appropriate speech moves, the
frequency and the linguistic markers of which reflect the linguocultural and gender
characteristics of speech behaviour of a certain linguocultural community.
The thesis investigates a reflection of culturally significant information in
nominations and images as well as a system of professional values by describing and
comparing the structure of the key concepts of the cinematic activity – “film”, “film
directing” and “acting” – and the linguistic means of their presentation as reflected in
English and German reviews.
The work also pinpoints the text-forming communicative strategies of the review in
film criticism: the downgrading strategies, the status-enhancing strategies, and the
introduction strategy. The English and German reviewers mostly use the tactics of a
positive presentation of the object of criticism in the framework of the status-enhancing
strategies, that of a negative presentation – within the downgrading strategies. The main
text-forming communicative tactics also include the tactics of introducing the film, which
the reviewers use primarily implementing the introduction strategy. The self-presentation
tactics and the tactics of dialogue with the reader are presented in all communicative
strategies of the review in film criticism.
A comprehensive research methodology has been applied to obtain the scientifically
verified results: contextual analysis of the object of criticism to identify the structural
components of key concepts  of the review in film criticism; contextual interpretative
analysis to reconstruct the communicative intention of the reviewer and the predicted
impact on the reader embodied in the strategic-tactical creation of the text; the method of
quantitative calculations to determine the frequency of speech moves in the female and
male reviews of both linguocultures and their specific weight within appropriate
communicative tactics; comparative analysis to detect 1) the linguocultural characteristics
of the conceptualization of reality in the field of cinematographic activity; 2) the
linguocultural characteristics of language markers of the speech moves; 3) the
linguocultural and gender characteristics of the speech behaviour of English and German
reviewers. 12795 speech moves have been singled out in terms of an overall selection in
the reviews under research (500 texts).
The scientific novelty of the thesis consists in the research of the reflection of
culturally significant information in nominations, images, a system of professional values;
the definition of a set of text-forming communicative strategies, tactics and speech moves
of the review in film criticism; the identification of the convergent and divergent
linguocultural and gender characteristics in the speech behaviour of the English and
German linguocultures in the critical discourse performed for the first time.
The practical value of the research lies in a plausible use of the results in the process
of teaching lectures on communicative, cognitive, gender and text linguistics; in special
courses on linguocultural studies. The materials of the thesis can be useful in journalism,
as recommendations for writing reviews, as well as in the field of intercultural
communication for the correct interpretation of linguocultural and gender characteristics of
speech behaviour of the English and German linguocultures.
The conducted research proves that the texts of the speech genre of the review in
film criticism contain the information about the peculiarities of the conceptualization of
reality in the field of cinematographic activity by the English and German linguocultures,
which are inherent in the key concepts and their linguistic manifestation, as well as the
linguocultural and gender characteristics of the strategic-tactical planning of the linguistic
actions of the representatives of both linguocultural communities.
Key words: review in film criticism, concept, speech behaviour, communicative
strategy, communicative tactics, speech move, linguoculture, gender.