Hyperconcept Europeanness in the Mirror of Frame Analysis

Abstract

The present study is devoted to the investigation of the semantic content and axiological characteristics of hyperconcept EUROPEANNESS in the modern Ukrainian political linguoculture. Without any doubt the hyperconcept in focus might be qualified as one of the most important concepts of the contemporary Ukrainian institutional political discourse. In the institutional political discourse hyperconcept EUROPEANNESS сomes up as the universal, status and ideologically engaged phenomenon that could be looked upon as a specific Ukrainian world-view constant, which plays a role of a powerful idiologeme in our political times and actually determines Ukrainian social and political reality. It creates a peculiar ideal and virtual space of Ukrainians’ existence, outlining the norms and the rules of the proper behaviour in the civil society both for the ordinary people and circles of administrative power in the context of Western model of democratic society. The frame-slot analysis has shown that the hyperconcept EUROPEANNESS is realized by the individually oriented hypoconcept DESIRE TO BE FREE. It led to the implementation of socially oriented hypoconcepts, such as LIBERTY, DEMOCRACY, REFORMS and STANDARDS. With the help of contextual analysis it was shown that socially oriented hypoconcepts possess the estimative component, that gives grounds for qualifying them in the terms of evaluative concepts: safety, welfare, well-being, justice, equality and dignity. The frame-slot analysis had confirmed the fact of partial lack of European realities and values in the contemporary Ukrainian society. However, for the Ukrainians they appear to be a dream and an ideal, a natural desire and a sort of motivation for the better life, which might be only achieved on the way of radical changes in the structure and axiological content of the Ukrainian state.