Axiological And Gender Components In Neologisms Naming The Characters Of Film Discourse

Abstract

The article deals with English-language neologisms that name the characters of film discourse. Film discourse is considered as a combination of linguistic and extralinguistic factors of a film, its interpretation by a viewer, and intertext with other types of art for the presence of axiological and gender components in their definitions and contextual field. The definitions and the context of some neologisms (and sometimes the neologism itself as a lexical item or set of lexemes) contain positive or negative colored lexemes; this allows concluding that the attitude of the audience to this or that character. A particular set of characteristics inherent in the characters and influencing the audience's attitude towards them is described. It has been noticed that not always protagonists impress the public, and antagonists meet the audience's disapproval. Sometimes the opposite situation develops, as evidenced by the corresponding lexemes in the definitions and the context of these neologisms, as well as the recognition by the audience of some antagonists and the unpopularity of some protagonists. Among the considered neologisms there were also such lexical units, in which there is also a gender component. In this case, lexemes with gender potential often refer to gender stereotypes accepted in society. Some neologisms name female or male characters, but often the neologism is gender-neutral. When selecting neologisms, their definitions and contextual field, electronic dictionaries, news websites, and sites whose main theme is film language and the cinematic universe were used.