The thesis studies the Russian-language binary conceptual sphere of “War” and “Peace” in the context of Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine and examines its evolution over time. The binary conceptual sphere of “War” and “Peace” is a linguistic and mental entity that is characterized by the distinct conceptual, receptive, and associative qualities. The comprehensive method, which most accurately portrays its content and complex structure, combines cognitive (significative method and frame modelling) and pragmatic approaches along with the experimental validation of the findings.
The employed method of conceptual analysis has revealed the peculiarities of the evolution of the Russian-language binary conceptual sphere of “War” and “Peace” within the profane and mythopoeic (along with artistic and proverbial) world images imprinted in the minds of the carriers of Russian linguistic culture. The approach reveals a thorough model of the evolution of beliefs about war and peace, spanning from ancient mythopoeic and the profane views to present-day beliefs about their core. The conceptual sphere is examined from the standpoint of synchrony, diachrony, and their interaction. It has been established that Russia’s modern hybrid warfare against Ukraine is based on a set of mythopoeic dominants. The author states that the development of the current name of the hyperconcept of “War”, historically speaking, was driven by the shift from physical to informational and virtual forms of modern war.
The desire to present a holistic view of the evolution of the binary conceptual sphere of “War” and “Peace” in its prospective orientation has determined the direction of the research: from the reconstruction of the original meanings of the hyperconcepts of “War” and “Peace” in etymological and historical dictionaries along with dictionaries of sacred language to the facts of modern language, taking into account the current peculiarities of its development.
The first chapter, titled “The Study of the Binary Conceptual Sphere of “War” and “Peace” in the Age of Hybrid Warfare,” examines contemporary Ukrainian and foreign linguistic academic works dedicated to the study of the language of war and the language of peace, particularly in the context of Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine.
The second chapter, titled “Binary Conceptual Sphere of “War” and “Peace” in Etymological, Historical, and Dialectological Lexicographical Descriptions,” characterises the semantic motivation of the names of the hyperconcepts of “War” and “Peace” in etymological, historical, and dialectological lexicographical descriptions.
The third chapter, “The Binary Conceptual Sphere of “War” and “Peace” in Various Lexicographical Descriptions of the 20th and 21st Centuries,” determines the peculiarities of the evolution of the hyperconcepts of “War” and “Peace” in the profane and mythopoeic (manifested, in particular, in the artistic and proverbial) world image in Russian linguistic culture. The research focuses on the lexicographic description of the names of the hyperconcepts of “War” and “Peace” in various dictionaries, such as explanatory dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms and antonyms, artistic dictionaries, sacred language dictionaries, and associative dictionaries.
The fourth chapter, “The Binary Conceptual Sphere of “War” and “Peace” in the Age of Hybrid Warfare,” provides occasional observations of linguistic phenomena that emerged during Russia’s hybrid war in Ukraine. The author analyses the results of the free-associative experiment with the stimuli “War,” “Hybrid War,” “War in Ukraine,” and “Peace in Ukraine.”
The fifth chapter, “Cognitive Metaphor in the Structure of the Binary Conceptual Sphere of “War” and “Peace,” distinguishes some relevant metaphorical models (anthropomorphic (including sociomorphic, sensory, and artefact), nature-morphic, spatiotemporal, and sacred) in Ukrainian Russian-language media discourse.
