LANGUAGE IMAGE OF THE DEFENDER OF UKRAINE IN THE TEXTS OF THE WAR PERIOD

Abstract

The article presents a textual analysis of the linguistic image of the defender of Ukraine, outlined in Ukrainian media and fiction texts of 2022–2023. The phenomenon of glorification of the image of Ukraine’s defenders is documented. This is an absolutely justified information strategy aimed at actively countering the propaganda of the aggressor country, in particular fake and discrediting materials that undermine the credibility of the Ukrainian army. It is noted that important for the linguistic description of the defenders of Ukraine are: a) names of military formations, military organisations, military units – army, Armed Forces of Ukraine / AFU, national guard, territorial defence, assault brigade, etc; b) names of persons – members of military formations, military organisations, military units – fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, soldiers, national guardsmen, Azov soldiers, assault troops, etc; c) names of persons with the meaning of ‘one who protects from the enemy’, ‘one who fights the enemy’ – defenders, fighters, warriors, brothers-in-arms; d) metaphorical nominations – cyborgs, warriors of Light, knights of Freedom, Ukrainian angels of sky. The epithets are predictably dominated by intimating meanings (ours, dear, dear, native), positive evaluations (the best, stubborn, stubborn, faithful, unbreakable, proud, true) and glorification (superpowerful, holy, sacred). In accordance with the glorification strategy, nominations and images with the semes ‘heroism’, ‘victory’, ‘patriotism’, ‘honour’, ‘glory’, ‘dignity’, ‘invincibility’, ‘resilience’, ‘strength’, ‘power’, ‘courage’, ‘bravery’, ‘courage’, ‘bravery’, ‘goodness’, ‘love’, ‘light’, ‘salvation’ dominate in the linguistic descriptions of Ukraine’s defenders. The significance of the image of the hero is demonstrated. The article reveals and illustrates the productivity of lexical, syntactic, stylistic structures – wartime language signs and identifiers of Ukrainian’s attitudes towards the defenders of Ukraine.