TURKISH MILITARY DISCOURSE AS A CULTURAL-HISTORICAL AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC PHENOMENON

Abstract

Background. The growing attention to speech as a complex sociolinguistic phenomenon has led to the emergence and development of discourse studies. In light of the increase in military conflicts in recent years, the issue of military translation has become particularly relevant in Ukraine, along with the need to develop a theory of military discourse and explore the specifics of its translation. This article examines the concepts of "discourse" and "military discourse" through the lens of institutional characteristics. The aim of the study is to identify the influence of cultural-historical and sociolinguistic factors on the emergence of Turkish military discourse and the processes involved in the formation of Turkish military vocabulary.

Methods. The study employed the following methods: contextual analysis, used to determine the semantics of language units of the military sphere in their contex; structural and word-formation analysis, applied to identify the ways in which Turkish military vocabulary is formed; and functional analysis, used to explore how these language units operate within military discourse.

Results. The article examines the Old Turkic verbs ak- and bas-, along with structures derived from these verbs, in terms of their semantic variability. Based on the theory of spatial and temporal conceptospheres, it is established that words, having a natural orientation, acquire military meanings through the process of semantic diversification. The study analyzes one of the most frequently used terms in historical Turkish military terminology, sü (~ s_ǖ) meaning "soldier, army, etc.," as well as terms formed using the sü lexeme. The emergence of military terminology is traced both through borrowings from other languages and through lexico-semantic processes (such as shift, extension, narrowing, and change of meaning). The study identifies the emergence of new mental units – such as concepts, stereotypes, scenarios, conceptual fields, and values – within military discourse. These elements contribute to the formation of a national and global military discourse through the use of "code-terms" that serve to indoctrinate contemporary Turkey.

Conclusions. By analyzing specific cultural-historical and sociolinguistic features of the formation of Turkish military discourse, we conclude that there is a deep connection between Turkic military terminology and a natural worldview. The development of military terminology should be considered in the context of the history of military culture, interrelations, and borrowings. Turkish military terminology has also been formed through lexico-semantic and morpho-syntactic means. Since military discourse was a part of nation-building in the modern Turkish Republic, this issue warrants further dedicated investigation.