KYIV AS A LINGUISTIC SPACE OF WAR EXPERIENCE: LEXICAL, PHRASEOLOGICAL, AND PSYCHOLINGUISTIC ASPECTS

Valentyna Y. Drobotenko,

Email: v.drobotenko@kubg.edu.ua

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8525-6493

PhD in Philology, Associate Professor

Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/StudLing2026.28.35-43

PDF  (UKRAINIAN)

ABSTRACT

The article presents a comprehensive linguopragmatic analysis of the peculiarities of verbalizing war experience within the contemporary linguistic space of Kyiv during the 2023-2026 period. The relevance of the study is driven by the need for scholarly recording of linguistic transformations in real-time to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind national resilience formation. The methodological framework of the research comprises descriptive, contextual, and psycholinguistic analysis methods, which allowed for a systemic study of a dataset containing over 300 messages extracted from official (Kyiv City State Administration, UKR INFORM) and informal (“Real Kyiv”, “Kyiv Without Censorship”) Telegram channels.

In the course of the study, the following results were obtained: a clear linguopragmatic dichotomy was identified between institutional discourse, oriented toward memorialization and maintaining social order, and the informal segment, which serves as a platform for collective psychological stabilization and therapeutic reflection. The research characterizes the semantic transformations of everyday lexis and the emergence of innovative 2026 nominations related to mobilization processes (“busification”), the technological evolution of threats, and geopolitical irony (“Donnieland”). Special attention is paid to the conceptualization of “red lines” as a key existential marker of resistance in the speech of Kyiv residents.

The conclusions of the work confirm that the capital’s linguistic space is a dynamic system where language performs not only a nominative but also a therapeutic function, transforming traumatic experience into a structured narrative of collective resilience. It is proven that the rationalization of threats through quantitative indicators and the ironic reflection of the international context are leading strategies for psychological defense. The prospects for further research are seen in studying the transformations of Kyiv’s urbanonymicon and the gender specifics of war discourse in social networks.

Keywords: war lexis, linguistic space, Kyiv, psycholinguistics, Telegram-discourse, pragmatics, solidarity, red lines.

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