THE CONCEPT OF “VICTORY” IN CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN (BASED ON MEDIA TEXTS)

Abstract

The article studies the specific features of representing the concept of “VICTORY” in contemporary Ukrainian media texts. The notion of media discourse is defined in the study as a systemic linguistic practice aimed at shaping and transmitting socially significant values and models for interpreting reality. It is established that the concept of “VICTORY” functions as a semantic dominant frequently used in official addresses and speeches by public officials, as well as in news media. It has been determined that the concept of “VICTORY” encompasses a range of interrelated semantic components, namely: a military component, which manifests itself in the perception of victory as the outcome of armed confrontation; a political and legal component, implying the restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity; a moral and value-based component, which presupposes the restoration of unity and the honoring of heroes; an existential component, characterized as a condition for survival and a possibility for the state’s development; and a personalized component, manifested in the preservation of identity and a sense of belonging. It has been established that these semantic components collectively form the multidimensional semantic structure of the concept of “VICTORY” in contemporary Ukrainian media discourse. The study reveals that, in Ukrainian media texts, the military component still remains the key one, emerging from armed confrontation and aimed at achieving a specific goal. However, in modern media discourse, the concept of “VICTORY” increasingly not only describes the outcome of a military conflict but also functions as a complex sociocultural symbol. As a result, a tendency is observed toward the gradual loss of the narrow meaning of “VICTORY” as solely military triumph and the acquisition of a broader existential dimension, where it emerges as a condition for the survival of the state, the preservation of national identity, and the right of the Ukrainian people to a future. It is also noted that in media texts the concept of “VICTORY” is very often combined with time and evaluative markers, which indicates the nation’s awareness of the importance of victory and the complexity of the path toward it.