I. YAKOVLEV CHUVASH STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY BULLETIN

Generation Z, image of Generation Z, media discourse, phonetic means

This article is devoted to the study of phonetic features peculiar to English-speaking representatives of generation “Z”. The authors consider such phonetic parameters as melodic characteristics of speech, pauses in speech, volume and speed of utterance, peculiarities of voice coloring and diction of speakers, peculiarities of pronunciation of diphthongs and monophthongs.

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the analysis of specific features in behavior, communication and views on life which are represented in the modern English-language media discourse will allow to see linguistic peculiarities and features of communicative behavior of generation “Z” representatives which may lead to changes in the English language in the near future.

The authors of the article analyze English-language videos, channels of journalists and bloggers, podcasts and interviews, websites, cybersport news portal and forum. The following methods of research were used in order to meet the objectives: continuous sampling method, method of phonetic portraiture, auditory analysis and electroacoustic analysis.

The analysis of the results showed that in the speech of English-speaking representatives of generation “Z” there is an aspiration to use the modern trend of “uptalk”, variability of intonation, highlighting of semantic centers and general diversity of melodic pattern. In speech there are pauses of hesitation, both filled and unfilled. It should also be noted that speech is realized mainly in a narrow tonal range using the lower register of the voice. It is necessary to note the tendency to “swallow” the final part of the utterance. It should also be noted that the representatives of generation “Z” tend to “smoothen” regional features in pronunciation that results in absence of accents.

Кормилина Наталия Владимировна – кандидат филологических наук, доцент, декан факультета иностранных языков Чувашского государственного педагогического университета им. И. Я. Яковлева, г. Чебоксары, Россия, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7560-7531, kormilina@yandex.ru

Шугаева Наталья Юрьевна – кандидат филологических наук, доцент, заведующий кафедрой английской филологии и переводоведения Чувашского государственного педагогического университета им. И. Я. Яковлева, г. Чебоксары, Россия, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4613-9158, nat-shugaeva@yandex.ru

Кириллова Наталья Станиславовна – студент факультета иностранных языков Чувашского государственного педагогического университета им. И. Я. Яковлева, г. Чебоксары, Россия, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6103-0892, kirillova.01@bk.ru