New phenomena in semantics and word-formation of the vocabulary in the Ukrainian press in the period from 2014 to 2017 are comprehensively investigated on the actual material in the thesis. The use of words in the functional and stylistic spheres that are not inherent to them is considered, and the reasons for the penetration of the other styles’ vocabulary of the contemporary Ukrainian language into the periodicals are generalized, the ways of its replenishment and development tendencies are determined.
Extralinguistic factors of the new phenomena in semantics and word formation of the vocabulary are described in the investigation. In addition, the role of the internal linguistic factors are defined and the tendencies of the linguistic changes are outlined.
Terms, new words, archaisms and historicisms, spoken lexemes and slang, borrowings, etc. get spread in the language of the Ukrainian periodicals that proves the versatility of journalism. Journalists often resort to the use of expressively evaluated vocabulary with the negative, less with the positive meanings.
During the investigated period, the following thematic groups are activated: “Social and political events” („Characteristics of the authorities”, „Elections”), „Ukrainian Russian relations”, „War and military sphere”, „International relations”, „Economic processes”, „Medicine”, „Everyday life”, „Culture and leisure”, „Crime”, „Social Processes”.
The analysis of the new words, in particular nouns, verbs, adjectives, is carried out, and the main ways of their word formation are defined. It is found out that borrowings are widely used in the language of the Ukrainian press at the beginning of the XXI century, and it is determined that most of them are Anglicisms, that confirms the great influence of the English language on Ukrainian. It is defined that neologisms are used in the journalistic texts for informing and nominating. Occasionalisms are used in the periodicals, among which nouns prevail, and much less – verbs and adjectives. It is determined that occasionalisms perform not only informative, but also expressive and evaluative function in the text, have a clear negative meaning.
It is noted that the process of the returning words from the passive state to the active use is continuing, that is, the process of the lexemes’ reactivation is in the force in the Ukrainian periodicals. Book and obsolete words, as well as historicisms, which provide the textural elevation, grandiloquence and solemnity, penetrate widely into the language of the press. These lexical items serve to express the author’s thoughts and, in order to attract the reader’s attention, sometimes they are endowed with the negative evaluative meaning which is determined contextually.
Terms are analyzed and systematized in the thesis. It is determined that the language units from the spheres of economy, medicine and information technologies are the most active in the language of the domestic mass media. Recently, the military vocabulary, which penetrates into the various thematic groups, is becoming widespread. In addition, the use of the words with a figurative meaning is recorded. That confirms the determinism process, which is the component of the language intellectualization. Intellectualization is also conditioned by the processes of word formation of the new words in the Ukrainian language, the wide use of book words, archaisms, historicisms, and terms.
There is still a tendency to the spoken and expressivation of the vocabulary in the language of the Ukrainian press. The wide involvement of the spoken verbs in the Ukrainian press is found, in particular, the largest group is the verbs of speech; movement and displacement, less – mental state and action. Spoken nouns with the concrete and abstract meanings are also used in the publications. There is a replenishment of the newspapers and magazines with the onim lexicon derivatives, univerbats and lexical units formed from the abbreviations. It is determined that the appearance of such one word formations is facilitated by the effect of the law of the linguistic efforts and means’ saving. Besides, spoken words pass the emotional state; they are a means of expressing a journalistic text.
The appearance of the diminutives and augmentatives in the language of periodicals is noted. Diminutives often have a pejorative meaning, less often – reclamation. They are used to demonstrate the author’s attitude to a person, process, or phenomenon in order to emphasize the size of the subject or transmit the direct speech of the respondent. Augmentatives have a negative evaluative meaning, they also express the size of the described subject or event or represent condemnation, neglect, disgust, humiliation and other author’s emotions to whom he writes.
