Z как символ, иконический репрезентант концепта и первая часть новых композитов: когнитивный и лексикографический аспекты
“Z” as a Symbol, an Iconic Representative of the Concept and the First Component of the “Z-Compounds”: Cognitive and Lexicographic Aspects

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes the group of new words with the first component Z- in its quantitative and qualitative diversity. The novelty of the work is determined by the choice of lexical material: composite words with the first component Z- appeared in the Russian language quite recently, in 2022 and 2023. The studied material reflects one of the most important sociolinguistic trends in the Russian language of the newest period: the consolidation of the letter Z as a symbol and an iconic representative of the concept. The paper reveals the mechanism of the discursive transition of the unofficial military-technical term Z to the mass media and the further formation of a symbolic meaning for the letter: initially, the sign appears on photographs and video images of military equipment, then it is transferred to real objects (applied to clothes, cars, posters, etc.). In the collective linguistic consciousness of the people, an “associative nebula” of the symbol is formed: Z is a symbol of a military operation and a symbol of victory. The formation of a polyinterpretable symbolic meaning is facilitated by numerous publications that proclaim the mystical connection of the sign Z with the letters of the Old Slavonic, Old Russian, and Church Slavonic alphabets, with various zoomorphic images, the number 7, the names of ancient gods, the names of temples, etc.

• Details
• Contents