NATIONAL AND SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE CONCEPT OF WAR IN TEXTS OF UKRAINIAN AND ENGLISH SONGS

Abstract

The article considers the content of Ukrainian songs as an important tool for expressing the pain, suffering and loss caused by the war and explores the ways of transmitting the message of the war by analyzing the nationalspecific features of the concept of WAR. The concept of WAR has a universal and individual character, which varies depending on each people and even each individual. The universal aspect is that all the peoples of the world in history have experienced wars and often faced conflicts with other peoples for decades. However, each nation has its own unique approach to this concept, and WAR has its own characteristics and meanings, which are determined by the context of national history. We have established national-specific verbalizers of the concept of WAR, based on the songs we have chosen to analyze. We believe that these concepts constitute the periphery of the nuclear-peripheral structure of the concept of WAR. Such concepts include: names for cities and names of historical persons, as well as the main figurative means by which the concept of WAR is verbalized, such as: metaphors (38%), allusions (31%), hyperboles (8%), oppositions (7%), oxymorons (8%), reduced caressing words (8%), similes (8%), epithets (6%), as well as neologisms of war. Analysis of figurative means made it possible to reveal that Ukrainian songs contain much more diverse figurative means than English ones. English songs often use similes and contrasts, and Ukrainian songs use allusions. Ukrainian songs can use more symbolism, which is specific to Ukrainian culture and history. For example, they may refer to Cossack traditions, heroic deeds or national symbols. While English songs can use their own cultural and historical symbolism. However, Ukrainian songs are more focused on specific historical events and the national context, while English songs more often highlight problems of a global nature. The use of metaphors and symbolism in both cultures reflects different ways of perceiving and expressing images of war.