BREXIT AND OTHER EXITS: ONYM PLAY IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL NAMING

Анотація

This article is devoted to the problem of onym play as a means of political and economic process naming. We analyse word formation and semantics of proper names within texts of a journalistic genre. The processes of Brexit prompted the expansion of two groups of words: a) nonce-words formed according to the Brexit model: from the point of view of origin ‒ formed by means of blending; from the point of view of semantics ‒ those, which mean the departure of some country from an international organization. Other ways, in which these occasionalisms are formed, include phonetic mimicry and graphic means; b) occasionalisms formed only by means of blending, and used to designate diverse notions: from feelings connected to the process of Brexit to people having various attitudes to this process. Numerous Brexit-type onyms are observed in the headlines, where onym play facilitates the creation of catchy headlines due to the use of expressive means and stylistic devices. The purpose of this article is to study onym play as a means of political and economic process naming. The object of research is contemporary political and economic lexis. The subject is neologisms brought to life due to the processes of Brexit. We use general scientific method of induction, which permits us to draw conclusions about the nature of onym play. The combination of morphological and contextual analyses allows us to better understand the origins of portmanteaus and their role in forming expressive texts. The practical value of the article is the fact that it addresses beginner journalists, who seek to master the art of creating stylistically graceful headlines. As a result of the investigation, the peculiarities of onym play in contemporary political naming were determined. Onym play was examined on the phonological, morphological, and syntactic levels.