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Scientific Journal “Modern Linguistic and Methodical-and-Didactic Researches” Issue 1 (24), 2019 ISSN 2587-8093

UDC 398.95: 80 (802.0+808.2)

PECULIARITIES OF FUNCTIONING OF NICKNAMES

IN THE MEDIADISCOURSE

I.V. Guyduk, G.Yu. Solomatina

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Voronezh State Technical University,

Ph.D. in Linguistics, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages and Translation Technology, Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Irina Victorovna Guyduk

e-mail: irene.123@mail.ru

Voronezh State Pedagogical University,

Senior Lecturer at the Department of the English Language Galina Yuryevna Solomatina

e-mail: patterson.22@mail.ru

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Statement of the problem. The article is devoted to the analysis of peculiarities of functioning of nicknames in the media discourse, the study of their pragmatics and typology, as well as their ability to express assessment. Results. The morphological composition and typology of nicknames are analyzed taking into account their semantics and evaluative connotations included in their composition. We have identified 7 groups in this typology: nicknames, based on the terms of the relationship to power; characterizing nicknames or nicknames-characteristics; nicknames built on the type of patronymic or gender relations; nicknames, based on any similarity with a historical prototype; nicknames built by analogy with a fairy tale or a cartoon character; nicknames that have a literary basis, and nicknames-abbreviations. All the above mentioned groups in the typology are graded in terms of assessment. Special attention is paid to nicknames based on a metaphor, their source-sphere and target-sphere are analyzed, the following types of metaphors are established: a military metaphor, a military artifact metaphor, an artifact metaphor, an entomological metaphor, a metallomorphic metaphor, a zoonymic metaphor, a naturomorphic metaphor, a phytomorphic metaphor.

Conclusion. Conclusions about the pragmatics of the functioning of nicknames in the media discourse, their ability to convey certain assessment taking into account the intention of the author of the materials are made. In the majority of the nicknames we analyzed in the media discourse, negative connotation comes to the fore, thus actualizing the derogative assessment of the carrier. The assessment, which is given in the nicknames built on the basis of metaphors, is emotional and personal. In the course of the study, it was revealed that nicknames-abbreviations, usually neutral from the point of view of performing evaluative functions, can actualize a derogative assessment in the media discourse.

Key words: media discourse, mediatext, precedent name, PS (precedent, situation), nickname, connotation, positive connotation, negative connotation, ascertaining (neutral) nicknames, characterizing nicknames, concept, metaphor, source-sphere, target-sphere, meliorative assessment, derogative assessment, implicit assessment, explicit assessment, emotional assessment, neutral modality.

For citation: Guyduk I.V., Solomatina G.Yu. Peculiarities of functioning of nicknames in the mediadiscourse / I.V. Guyduk, G.Yu. Solomatina // Scientific Journal “Modern Linguistic and Methodical-and-didactic Researches”. – 2019. - №1 (24). – P. 44-60

Introduction

Mass-media, as a source of information about the world (in all domains of our life) invariably affect consciousness, worldview, culture of modern humanity, direct and form public opinion [1, p. 80].

Having analyzed different approaches to understanding of discourse, Mendzheritskaya E.O. concludes that “discourse should be regarded as a cognitive process, a reflection of

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© Guyduk I.V., Solomatina G.Yu., 2019

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thinking by means of language” [2, p. 55]. Media texts, in turn, are influential in nature. It is important to note that the recipient currently is not the individual, but certain social groups, which members share similar social-and-cultural characteristics [3, p. 81].

Nicknames are of interest to a linguist researcher, as they are “the translators of certain elements of the culture of the people” [4]. We allocate to a particular type those nicknames, which are based on figures of speech, specifically on a metaphor. According to Filatov K.S., the mass-media is a particularly important sphere of functioning of metaphors to study them, because here they directly reflect, and sometimes even create, the cognitive experience of a modern society [5, p. 3].

The methodological base of the article constitutes the research in the field of anthroponomastics (N.V. Denisov, A.B. Dolia, T.M. Naumova, A.A. Pashkevich, O.A. Fomenko); scientific works, dedicated to various aspects of metaphor functioning (N.D. Arutyunova, E.V. Kovalevskaya, O.L. Kondratieva, Z.I. Rezanova, E.V. Temnova, V.K. Kharchenko, K.S. Filatov), and works on media discourse (E. O. Mendzheritskaya, Ye.S. Solntseva).

Research Methodology

The object of this study are nicknames extracted by the method of mass sampling from the modern media of Russia, Great Britain and the USA, as well as from Internet sources (the list is attached). The subject of the study is to identify the structure and typology of nicknames, revealing their evaluative potential. The purpose of this study is to analyze specific typological features of nicknames, their structure, to classify their assessment, to identify and describe their pragmatics of functioning in media texts. Research methods include descriptive, component analysis and the method of contextual analysis.

Examples of nicknames extracted by mass sampling from the Russian, British and American media served as the material for the study, and the examples available on Englishlanguage Internet web sites were also used (the list of analyzed sources is attached).

Research results

This study is devoted to the analysis of the typology, pragmatic and evaluative potential of anthroponyms (personal nicknames), as nominative means of the English language. The first group in our typology consists of nicknames, based on terms related to power.

♦ N i c k n a m e s b a s e d o n t e r m s r e l a t e d t o p o w e r ( t s a r , s u l t a n , k i n g , q u e e n , h e t m a n , c h a n c e l l o r , l o r d , a s s i s t a n t , p r i n c e ) .

Irony becomes one of the most common techniques, showing author’s self. So the author simultaneously seeks to express his own attitude to the problem, to interest and adjust the reader to a certain perception of the described situation [6, p. 91]. This explains the fact that most nicknames in the media discourse have an ironic background. There we should certainly mention such linguistic term as “connotation”. Although connotation is a special, hidden component of the meaning of a language unit, it is recognized by native speakers as based on cultural- ly-marked associations, cultural stereotypes, as well as background knowledge. An anthroponym possessing connotation, not only creates, but also retains the deep meaning connected with the word’s semantics, fixes it in the language [4]. Having analyzed the examples from the press, we conclude nicknames having some connotations.

• sultan Erdogan → emphasizes the ruthless pursuit of absolute power of the Turkish President:

Kiev is shocked by the apologies of “ S u l t a n E r d o g a n ” .

Therefore, at first, many Ukrainians decided that the apologies of “ S u l t a n E r d o g a n ” were simply invented by the Kremlin propaganda ... [1*, p. 2].

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•Vyatka Tsar Nikita Belykh [1 *, p. 2] → the governor, who arbitrarily equated his status to a tsar and allowed himself everything that only the autocrat could allow, everyone knows what kind of final result this sort of behavior led to;

•The “Dark Lord” Barack Obama → based on skin color and also by “dark” (“obscure”, incomprehensible, “vague”) leadership principles:

In short, t h e “ D a r k L o r d ” B a r a c k O b a m a during the years of his rule squandered everything his predecessors had earned since 1973 by back-breaking labour ... [2*, p. 2].

• O b a m a ’ s “ a s s i s t a n t ” Joe Biden → dependence of his policy is made contextually actual, he is just an “assistant”, who carries out the orders of his boss:

In a narrow circle, O b a m a ’ s “ a s s i s t a n t ” said that as long as Russia is focused on the Middle East and on the war with ISIS, Ukraine should have time to restore order on its own territory [3*, p. 2].

• the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is presented in the media as a new hetman and the “Chocolate King” → and if in the nickname new hetman national connotation moves to the foreground (hetman as the first person of the Ukrainian State), in the second, the “Chocolate King”, several connotations are combined, firstly, the obvious implication on a businessman in power, the owner of the “sweet” business, and secondly, there is a contrasting opposition: the king is “chocolate”, but the life of his subjects cannot be called sweet:

From the very beginning, many experts predicted the “ C h o c o l a t e K i n g ’ s ” quick and certain resignation. But for now the oligarch has kept his chair … [4*, p. 2].

In short, Berlin is forced to continuously send loans to Kiev, literally keep covering for

Ukraine from the “angry Moscals”, and in response only bite their thumb and envy the growing fortune of t h e n e w h e t m a n [5*, p.1].

• The nickname “Rusted Chancellor Merkel” (“All Fears of “Rusted Chancellor Merkel””) connotes the outdated political methods of the referent:

The Germans buried their heads in the sand and claimed that the Islamists would not attack their country ... But after the explosion of a bomb in the city of Ansbach, such tactics began to look very criminal, the dam of information was burst. The stream risks to wash away the “ R u s t e d C h a n c e l l o r ” [6 *, p. 2].

• Queen Hillary → back in her youth, this nickname was assigned to one of the brightest figures of American politics, the main feature here is her truly royal arrogance and unfriendly attitude to subordinates:

Mr Aldrich makes no secret of his dislike for the Clintons and their circle of advisers, whom he sees as a group of muddle-headed liberals.

He records that Mrs Clinton is known to staff as Q u e e n H i l l a r y because of her imperial manner and hostility to subordinates [7*, p. 1-2].

• the clown prince of American politics Joe Biden → clowns are aimed to entertain people in the circus, this component of the nickname can be considered as the display of explicit irony,

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while in its second component (prince) there is implicit irony hidden, he is just a prince, but his age is quite considerable:

From being the butt of unjustified criticism that he was t h e c l o w n p r i n c e of American politics, Biden is increasingly looking like the only adult in the room [8*].

♦ C h a r a c t e r i z i n g n i c k n a m e s ( o r n i c k n a m e s - c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ) can be divided into three groups: 1) with a positive connotation; 2) with a negative connotation; and 3) ascertaining (neutral).

C h a r a c t e r i s t i c n i c k n a m e s w i t h a p o s i t i v e c o n n o t a t i o n imply outstanding achievements in the profession, positive qualities and talents of the referent:

•Ice hockey player Alexander Ovechkin has got his nickname Alexander the Great for his outstanding achievements in the profession [9*, p. 15].

•Coco Chanel, the trendsetter of French and world fashion, the whole world knows as the Great Mademoiselle [10*].

•Actor Konstantin Raikin has acquired his nickname “six-armed Shiva” for his extraordinary agility and expressiveness of plasticity:

So Raikin has been Kostya for decades, even having headed, renamed and under his Renaissance talent, reformatted his father’s theater. “Konstantin Arkadyevich” somehow was not suitable for him, it sounded pretentiously and ceremoniously. A person who makes an impression of a spinning top, s i x - a r m e d S h i v a , a blot on the face of a fairy tale and needles in a wheel cannot have a middle name until the very old age [11*, p. 41].

• For his solidity “Chicago” fans called the hockey forward Artemi Panarin the “Bread Man”, which was echoed by Russian fans who suggested a slightly different version, with a share of good humor, Bun or Loaf:

“Chicago” fans called him the “B r e a d M a n ” .

– It’s nice because it’s kind. Even Russian guys know about my nickname and write personal messages in social nets: “B u n , how are you?” Or “Loaf, what’s going on?” [12*, p.16].

C h a r a c t e r i z i n g n i c k n a m e s w i t h a n e g a t i v e c o n n o t a t i o n reflect hooligan behavior, dishonesty, egomania and obsessive love of money, discrepancy of the intellect and previous experience of a former position, one’s desire to make a point in certain questions, weak professional skills, assimilation of a machine in one’s actions, inability to overcome the crisis, difficult character of a referent.

• Petersburg ice hockey coach Andrei Nazarov is known as Filthy Naz for his addiction to scandals, fights and obscene language:

And in Petersburg it was decided to give a position of a head coach to Andrei Nazarov, nicknamed F i l t h y N a z , who has a long trail of scandals… [13*, p. 14].

• The Famous American political figure Hillary Clinton has got her nickname Crooked Hillary during the presidential race with D. Trump, the motivation of it is her mendacity:

Meanwhile, as influential Financial Times submits, Mrs. Clinton has one big problem on her way to success: the majority of Americans don’t think much of her honesty. Apparently, because of that the tycoon has already called her C r o o k e d H i l l a r y [12*, p.2].

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Mrs. May rarely gives any sense of being chastened by a defeat, plowing ahead in the manner that earned her t h e n i c k n a m e “ M a y b o t .” – Миссис Мэй редко показы-

вает, что она переживает из-за поражения, она продвигается вперед так, что получила п р о з в и щ е “ М э й б о т ” [17*].

• The nickname “a bloody difficult woman” was assigned to the British Prime Minister thanks to Kenneth Clark, a politician from the Conservative party. Having named her in such a way on the sidelines, he didn’t claim the wide spreading of this nickname. But due to Brexit, it has actually become a verbal avatar of Theresa May. It is important to note that she repeatedly called herself so.

♦ A s c e r t a i n i n g n i c k n a m e s (nicknames, which note a referent having some certain abilities, hobbies, business, and also characterize a person on a kind of activity, or nicknames, based on the association with a played role, glorified an actor or actress, and derivates from surnames) have neutral modality in terms of the assessment of a carrier.

• Tennis player Maria Sharapova is known as the “Russian Siren,” thanks to her unique voice, she is able to shout above 80 decibels:

An idea to draw “R u s s i a n S i r e n ” came to overseas TV people when it turned out that none of the invited actresses could shout above 80 decibels [16*, p. 19].

• Ice hockey player A. Golyshev, successfully scoring goals in KHL, is known as TolyaGoal (his nickname can be considered as both semantically motivated, and as a shortening from his surname Golyshev):

And there is a 20-year-old quarterback of “Automobilist” Anatoly Golyshev, who has already scored 19 goals in the championship. Whom he can be compared with? 20-year- old Vladimir Tarasenko scored 23 goals in a season at the time. And now he is one of KHL stars. This is the track T o l y a - G o a l is on [19*, p. 17].

• Cinematography plays an important role in our life, the stars, who have become famous for this or that role, are always in the zone of greater focus of lots of people, that is why it is not surprising that they are famous not with their name and surname, but with the role they had (Julia Roberts – “Pretty Woman” [20*, p. 19]; Bruce Willis – Die Hard [21*], A. Zhigunov –

“gardes-marine” [22*, p. 14]).

• Surname derivatives can be referred to a s c e r t a i n i n g ( n e u t r a l ) n i c k n a m e s . Such nicknames have a low emotional charge, therefore they are few in number (for example, Shara from Sharapova [23*, p. 19] and Dzubinyo from Dzyuba [16*, p. 19]).

♦ N i c k n a m e s b u i l t a c c o r d i n g t o t h e t y p e o f p a t r o n y m i c ( f a t h e r , m o t h e r , d a d ) o r g e n d e r r e l a t i o n s ( l o v e r ) can be divided into two groups.

1. Nicknames with positive connotations (Nazarbayev → “Father of the Nation”; Eva Peron → “Mother of Argentina”; Rosa Kiyamova → “Mother Teresa of Vladimir”; Theresa May → Mummy or Mummy May; killed as a result of terrorist action head of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko → “Dad”; Fidel Castro → “Nation’s Lover”), when patronymic component

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emphasizes the authority and genuine concern for people or just loyalty; the nickname of Fidel Castro (“Nation’s Lover”) stands alone, being, on the one hand, the expression of his loving nature, and on the other, the expression of sincere love for him of the Cuban people.

• Having an official title of t h e “ F a t h e r o f t h e N a t i o n ”, Nazarbayev managed to abandon the deification following the example of Turkmen Secretary of the Central Committee Saparmurat Niyazov.

Unsurprisingly, that for the quarter century of Nazarbayev in power, Moscow hasn’t presented him with a Yanukovych. On the contrary, Russia in every way helped t h e “ F a - t h e r o f t h e N a t i o n ” to retain power without claiming the pie [24*, p. 8].

• Eva Peron, the former first lady of Argentina, who was called t h e “ M o t h e r o f A r g e n t i n a ” [25*, p. 2].

• Patriarch Alexei II at one time called her (Rosa Kiyamova) the “ M o t h e r T h e r e s a o f V l a d i m i r : at that time she, together with the search party, found the remains of 30 Moscow tankmen and was actively looking for their families [26 *, p. 23].

•If you analyze, how “D a d ” was killed, the guilt of RSSS of the DPR becomes evident

[27*, p. 10].

•Once Fidel, choosing the political commitment for the country, claimed: “I would be ready to become a communist immediately, if I was made Stalin”. But Joseph Vissarionovich and he played different roles. If Stalin was the “Father of Nations”, Fidel was the “ N a t i o n ’ s L o v e r ” [28*, p. 4-5].

•For the entire history of the British Prime Minister post existence, Theresa May has become the second woman after Margaret Thatcher to take this post. Unique qualities of character of the female political leader of the world’s leading power couldn’t but be reflected in the nicknames attached to Theresa May since her first appearance on the political podium and her first performance in the Parliament and media interviews.

Among them there is a nickname M u m m y or M u m m y M a y , which the representatives of the Conservative party call her. This nickname, however, is not a sarcastic ploy of those, who criticize Theresa May’s childlessness. Tory party representatives, according to the Independent, call her M u m m y because they need a woman for the role of matriarch, who, like Margaret Thatcher, will skillfully use her weaponising femininity, therefore ensuring loyalty, on the one hand, and be responsible for possible political failures, on the other.

Because while it’s true that the models for women in leadership in politics remain slim – and motherhood is one of rare types of female authority that Conservatives seem to be very comfortable with – that doesn't mean this apparent term of endearment, “M u m - m y ” , indicates that they wanted or needed someone’s actual mother as their leader. It means that they wanted a woman who can play the role of matriarch.

A woman who, like Margaret Thatcher, can wield power while weaponising femininity …

[29*].

2. Nicknames with ironic implication (Alexander Lukashenko → Dad or five-time Dad; Stalin → “Father of Nations”), when there is a distraction of patronymic component of the nickname, e.g., five-time Dad has really been elected as the president of the Republic of Belarus

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five times, as a result, has got this nickname. Or Stalin, well-known as a cruel tyrant, however, made history as the “Father of Nations”.

•It seems that they have reconciled with the political longevity of the Dad in Europe. The West has unanimously scolded past elections in Belarus. And this time it’s silence [30*, p. 4].

•In the next quote from mass-media German leader A. Merkel is being called “Mother Teresa”, but this time the nickname has a negative connotation: compassion for refugees can turn into problems for her own citizens. Thus, the nickname’s connotation may vary depending on the author’s interpretation of one and the same nickname (“Mother Teresa”):

The fact is that A. Merkel is rapidly losing popularity in Germany. Primarily due to the influx of migrants. The German media mockingly call her “ M o t h e r T e r e s a ” [2*, p. 2].

♦ N i c k n a m e s b a s e d o n a m e t a p h o r .

Modern linguistics has determined, that metaphor had become the key term in studying conceptual systems [7, p. 54]. It is worth noting that nicknames, based on the trope, and exactly on the metaphor, is a frequent phenomenon, which can be explained by the characterizing function of a metaphor, where the subjective principle always dominates in the view of reality [8]. Fomenko O.A., for example, claims in her dissertation research that the act of metaphorical creativity is “the main method in the generation of informal onyms” [4].

Metaphor and comparison, traditionally considered to be the main means of influence in fiction, are also widely used in the media, where they often have the character of “acuteness” and “actuality”, being, therefore, the most important mean of putting the audience in the mood a journalist needs [1, p. 80].

The first feature of information transmitted with metaphors is integrity and panorama of an image [9, p. 15]. The metaphoric-and-schematic structures of the source-sphere are projected onto the target-sphere, as a result forming a cognitive map, which, when imposed, categorizes new phenomena [10, p. 46]. The source-spheres of metaphors of the nicknames in the media discourse are the military sphere (infantryman, secret weapon, torpedo), natural phenomena (tornado, hurricane, storm), metal (iron), the animalistic sphere (poodle, Mad dog), the entomological sphere (the cockroach in a nuclear winter), a plant (the algae that survives on sulphuric gas from subaquatic volcanoes, seven miles beneath the daylight), a modern artifact (a mobile phone).

The formation of the meaning of derivative names occurs due to the simultaneous realization of the systematic meaning and occasional meaning. The result of such interaction is a system of two concepts about one subject: the properties of the one in question are viewed through the properties of the one by whose name it is designated [8]. Conceptual sphere “war” is one of the most traditional sources of conceptualization of various spheres of reality. Kondratieva O.L. notes that “the role of military metaphors in constructing the world of politics is especially great ...” [7, p. 54]. The examples we have found in the media discourse confirm this thesis.

• Two frames are being actualized within the framework of the conceptual sphere of

“war”: “Participants of an armed conflict” and “Weapon”. The subject, involved in the armed conflict, is to be understood as one of the parties to the dispute, ideological combat, in that case the lexeme infantryman is subjected to metaphorization.

The source-sphere is war (infantryman – the soldier of the lowest rank, modest military man, ready to carry out any order) – the target-sphere is man → military metaphor:

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Ramzan Kadyrov: “Once I called myself P u t i n ’ s i n f a n t r y m a n , they immediately fastened on the phrase, but so far I haven’t even deserved this title, P u t i n ’ s i n f a n - t r y m a n . If Vladimir Vladimirovich gives me a task, the most difficult, it will be the highest reward for me, great happiness” [31*, p. 19].

• No war is possible without weapons as tools of fighting enemies, in our case, ideological. Secret weapon and torpedo lexemes are being metaphorized.

The source-sphere is war (secret weapon) – the target-sphere is man → an artifact military metaphor.

European journalists were cautious with our Polina Gagarina first, as with the representative of the sanctioned country. Certain journalists even agreed to call her the “ s e - c r e t w e a p o n o f t h e K r e m l i n ” [32*, p. 28].

• The source-sphere is war (torpedo: lethal weapon moving with great speed, a seme of a metaphorical transfer is “quick and tough reaction”) – the target-sphere is man → an artifact military metaphor.

Maria Zakharova is already called the “n e w t o r p e d o o f t h e R u s s i a n f o r e i g n p o l i c y ” in the West (the head of the Department of Information of MFA of Russia), Maria doesn’t refute it. [33*, p. 16].

• The source-sphere is the rampant force of nature (tornado, hurricane, storm), having suddenness, rush, tremendous destructive power, which is hard to resist, the target-sphere is man → a naturomorphic metaphor.

But that does present a substantial problem: The preoccupation, not to say obsession, with Trump makes it hard for anyone else to be heard. Whatever you think of their politics, the GOP has an impressive array of talented, experienced candidates.

As one of them, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, told Fox News Monday, T r u m p n a d o is drowning out “just about everyone else out there” [34*].

The landfall of H u r r i c a n e T r u m p couldn’t have come at a better time. For Americans who’d like Washington to focus on reality and not the pointless controversy of the moment, the flippant billionaire seems to be a source of the problem, but they have it all wrong. He’s the solution. With S t o r m D o n a l d and his whirlwind of offensive comments now blowing by at 140 ratings points an hour, there might be some hope that, in the chaos, our farcical national debate might change [35*].

• The source-sphere is metal (iron) – the target-sphere is man, and, as a result, characteristic of an “iron” man, i.e. resistant and inflexible → a metallomorphic metaphor:

Carly Fiorina has been dubbed A m e r i c a ’ s I r o n L a d y . True to style, she was the first of the Republican presidential candidates to condemn Trump’s comments [36*].

• The source-sphere is animalistic (dog → poodle): a lapdog, which characterizes man as dependent, nonspacing, frivolous, who wants to serve the master – the target-sphere is man → a zoonymic metaphor.

The United States cobbled together a coalition, and lots of countries spoke with one voice against Russia. And when Bach finally decided that the biggest country should be al-

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lowed to go to the Olympic Games, the world started the real hysteria. They called Bach kinds of names, even the German Bild came out with the cover of “ P u t i n ’ s P o o d l e ”

[6*, p. 16].

• The source-sphere is animalistic (dog → Mad Dog): a dog struck by rabies, which affects the assessment of human behavior as unpredictable and uncontrollable – the target-sphere is man → a zoonymic metaphor.

It is curious that, according to the American press, Idlib operation began in the background of tension between Trump and the Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, nicknamed M a d D o g [27*, p. 2].

As we know, “metaphor deployment is the most powerful mean of assessment. In doing so, this assessment turns out to be emotional, personal” [5, p. 133]. In the following quotation there are three extended metaphors, characterizing the same person, the British Prime Minister Theresa May. In the first metaphor the source-sphere is an extremely unpleasant insect, which is hard to get rid of (the cockroach in nuclear winter) → an entomological metaphor; in the second, the source-sphere is a plant (the algae that survives on sulphuric gas from subaquatic volcanoes, seven miles beneath the daylight) → a phytomorphic metaphor; in the third, the source-sphere is an artifact (a mobile phone → Nokia 5210, which is known as an “immortal” gadget) → an artifact metaphor. Therefore, all these metaphors have one target-sphere → man and characterize Theresa May as extraordinarily tenacious, unsinkable and resistant politician.

“She is t h e c o c k r o a c h i n n u c l e a r w i n t e r . She is t h e a l g a e t h a t s u r - v i v e s o n s u l p h u r i c g a s f r o m s u b a q u a t i c v o l c a n o e s , s e v e n m i l e s b e - n e a t h t h e d a y l i g h t . She is t h e N o k i a 5 2 1 0 ” [17*].

Among the nicknames, there are also units motivated by cultural and literary allusions, historical associations and folklore [11, p. 218].

♦ N i c k n a m e s , w h i c h a r e b a s e d o n a n y s i m i l a r i t y w i t h o n e o r a n o t h e r h i s t o r i c a l p r o t o t y p e .

Allusive anthroponyms, entering the figurative element of the concept, accentuate or form its valuable element, reinforcing the positive or negative connotation of a language unit, which is the name of the concept, or contributing to reveal this connotation [12, p. 84]. There is a genetic link between allusive names and the phenomenon of precedence. Allusive proper names, being the reflection of images of precedent texts, are an integral part of the figurative component of the concept, filling it with additional content [13, p. 83].

• All the nicknames, based on any similarity with one or another historical prototype, which we have found, can be referred to the nicknames with ironic overtones. So, ice hockey player Alexander Radulov in the image of Ivan the Terrible rather causes irony than fear, which, as we know from history, was inspired to his subjects by the cruel Russian tsar. It is interesting to note that the appearance of Radulov contributes to the emergence of this parallel (“disheveled beard, eyes full of rage”), but his occasional flashing anger causes mockery and is more likely to be related to the character pathology. Thus, it is emphasized that the quality which the historical character actually possessed is completely opposite to the quality of the referent, here a “contradiction method” works.

Now Alexander (Radulov) appears in the image of Ivan the Terrible, disheveled beard, eyes full of rage.

Well, Radulov, probably, will remain “ I v a n t h e T e r r i b l e ” . Such people do not change [37*, p. 15].

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