FEATURES OF THE FUNCTIONING OF MILITARY CALL SIGNS USED BY UKRAINIAN SERVICE MEMBERS (BASED ON CURRENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION RESOURCES OF THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE)

Abstract

This article, based on contemporary official information sources of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, analyzes the characteristics of how Ukrainian military personnel’s call signs function in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The main motivational factors behind the creation of call signs by Ukrainian defenders have been identified. The call signs have been categorized into lexical-semantic groups. The purpose of this article is to analyze the call signs of Ukrainian military personnel as presented in the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s current official media outlets during the full-scale invasion; to identify the main motivational factors behind the creation of these call signs; and to distinguish lexical-semantic groups. The based on the analysis, the main lexical-semantic groups of call signs have been identified, along with their underlying motivational basis: those derived from the speaker’s pre-war professions, job titles, education, or hobbies; character traits and physical characteristics; names, first names, last names, and patronymics; names of gods, mythical, and fantastical creatures; geographical names and the bearer’s ethnocultural affiliation; names of literary heroes, characters from movies, cartoons, and fairy tales; nicknames arising from a specific situation, incident, event, or military-related activity. A separate group consists of call signs for which the motivational basis could not be identified: call signs derived from the names of animals; plants; historical figures; military ranks and positions; natural phenomena and elements; planets and celestial bodies; family relationships; names of vehicles; and place names. The analysis identified call signs of English origin. It was found that the call signs of Ukrainian military personnel are formed based on various motivational factors. It has been established that the motivational basis plays an important role in the analysis of appellatives, since the semantics of the root lexeme does not always reflect the actual reason for the origin of the term. All of this confirms the multifaceted nature of the modern military naming system, as well as its connection to naming traditions in the Ukrainian army