SERBIEN IN DER OPFER- ODER TÄTERROLLE? ARGUMENTATIONSANALYSE AM BEISPIEL DER CHARAKTERISIERUNG IM MAGAZIN DER SPIEGEL 1999

Abstract

The paper analyzes the reporting and the image of Serbia in the articles of the German magazine DER SPIEGEL, which thematize the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999 from the aspects of linguistic discourse analysis. The paper is theoretically based on the analysis of argumentative patterns or topos, established by the German linguist Wengeler (2007). The goal of topos analysis is the reconstruction of standardized knowledge, hence the empirical part determined what kind of knowledge or the arguments of certain positions are constructed in the selected speech community. Through the performed analysis, two lines of argumentation were established within the framework of the research question: the image of Serbia as the culprit for the NATO bombing and as the victim of aggression. The results of the corpus analysis are presented qualitatively, as well.