ACTUALIZATION OF THE CONCEPT PARTNER IN GERMAN VIRTUAL POLITICAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

Scientific research is focused on identifying the means of actualizing the concept PARTNER in German virtual political discourse. First, the theoretical preconditions for the analysis of the concept PARTNER in virtual political discourse are considered. The views of many leading domestic and foreign scholars on the concepts of "discourse", "virtual discourse", and "concept" are analyzed to develop our interpretation of definitions of virtual discourse, virtual political discourse, and concept. Possible means of actualization of the concepts and the researched concept PARTNER, in particular, are clarified. The meaning of the lexical unit and identifier of the concept (the word Partner) is studied, and its synonymic row is described. 500 lexical items and phrases that form the empirical basis of the study were identified with the help of a continuous sampling method on the web pages of the German government bundesregierung.de and the German parliament bundestag.de. All empirical material is subdivided into groups that are filled inhomogeneously. The noun Partner is the first or second component of compounds, and some derivative words are also formed from it. The concept of Partner is elaborated by the use of definite verbs that name actions which can be taken both by a partner and others towards him to achieve a certain goal. The lexical unit Partner is combined with a large number of adjectives (the most frequent group), which are semantically divided into five subgroups. The "partner status" subgroup is the most filled one. Two more subgroups, such as "international/national relations" and "qualities of partners " have almost the same number of words. Examples of the use of selected lexical units in context are given, and a model of the nominative field of the concept PARTNER is constructed. Its nucleus is defined with a lexical unit and identifier, a nuclear zone containing synonyms of a nuclear lexical unit, compounds with the component Partner and derivative words, and periphery (free phrases with verbs and adjectives) included. The conclusions summarize the results of the study and outline the prospects for further research.