Syntactic Innovations in Ukrainian and English Journalism (Based on the Material of the Newspapers “Ukraina Moloda” and “The Washington Post”)

Authors

  • Inna Zavalniuk

    Faculty of Philology and Journalism Named after Mykhailo Stelmakh, Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University, 21000 Vinnytsia, Ukraine
  • Valentyna Bohatko

    Department of Ukrainian Language, Faculty of Philology and Journalism named after Mykhailo Stelmakh, Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University, 21000 Vinnytsia, Ukraine
  • Nina Kukhar

    Department of Ukrainian Language, Faculty of Philology and Journalism named after Mykhailo Stelmakh, Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University, 21000 Vinnytsia, Ukraine
  • Ruslana Horobets

    Faculty of Philology and Journalism Named after Mykhailo Stelmakh, Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University, 21000 Vinnytsia, Ukraine
  • Vita Sahatska

    Faculty of Philology and Journalism Named after Mykhailo Stelmakh, Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University, 21000 Vinnytsia, Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i7.9230
Received: 26 March 2025 | Revised: 7 April 2025 | Accepted: 14 May 2025 | Published Online: 15 July 2025

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the pragmatical and stylistic functions of syntactic innovations in the newspaper discourse of the Ukrainian and English-language press, based on an analysis of the texts from “Ukraina Moloda” and “The Washington Post”. To achieve this goal, methods including corpus analysis, a standardised survey (Language Perception in Media Discourse Questionnaire), a unified evaluation scale, content analysis, and statistical analysis (correlation analysis, chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney U test) were employed. The results of the study indicate that simple one-member sentences have the highest levels of cognitive accessibility (4.5), stylistic expressiveness (4.7), and communicative effectiveness (4.6). This allows us to classify them as optimally structured. Elliptical sentences received an average score of 3.9, indicating moderate effectiveness but with potential difficulties in comprehension. The interrogative sentences exhibit a high level of stylistic expressiveness (4.5) and communicative effectiveness (4.4), confirming their significant role in engaging readers. Parcellated constructions turned out to be the least accessible for perception (3.7), although their stylistic expressiveness remains high (4.2). Conjunctive constructions exhibit balanced indicators of cognitive accessibility (4.0), stylistic expressiveness (3.9), and communicative effectiveness (4.1), rendering them a universal means of textual cohesion. The Mann-Whitney U-test revealed statistically significant differences in the perception of different syntactic constructions between the reader groups (p < 0.05). The results obtained can be applied in journalistic practice to improve the textual structure and increase the effectiveness of communication with the reader.

Keywords:

Syntactic Units; Pragma-Stylistic Functions; Expressive Syntax; Journalism; One-Member Sentences; Elliptical Sentences; Parcellated Constructions; Linguistic Trends

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How to Cite

Zavalniuk, I., Bohatko, V., Kukhar, N., Horobets, R., & Sahatska, V. (2025). Syntactic Innovations in Ukrainian and English Journalism (Based on the Material of the Newspapers “Ukraina Moloda” and “The Washington Post”). Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(7), 368–385. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i7.9230

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 7 (July 2025): In progress

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Copyright © 2025 Inna Zavalniuk, Valentyna Bohatko, Nina Kukhar, Ruslana Horobets, Vita Sahatska

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.