Trends in the peripheral nomination of countries in the modern media environment

The purpose of this work is to analyze the features of the use of periphrastic names of various countries in modern media texts, identify the names that are relevant to native speakers and are becoming obsolete, determine the specifics of figurative names for individual countries, and describe the linguistic phenomena involved.
Methods. The study uses continuous sampling, language observation, contextual analysis, lexical-semantic analysis, data systematization, and generalization.
The results of the study show that periphrastic nominations of countries are used in modern media discourse as a means of secondary nomination of objects, which allows the reader to influence their perception through evaluation. Periphrastic nominations of countries indicate their geographical features, geopolitical status, distinctive characteristics of their inhabitants, and the values they promote.
Conclusion. Modern media texts allow us to identify current figurative designations of countries that are frequently used, as well as outdated units. There are phenomena of poly-nominative periphrases (in relation to the most significant countries in the context of the media agenda) and their polysemy. The use of toponymic periphrases for Russia and the USSR reflects the process of rethinking the legacy of the Soviet era; figurative designations from the Soviet period are becoming obsolete, and there is a lack of current designations for the country. A characteristic feature of the periphratic naming of China and Japan is the use of self-designations. The transformation of generallanguage periphrases in the process of constructing an utterance allows for the revitalization of their imagery and the introduction of new semantic shades, which is achieved through the expansion of the components, the contamination of combinations, the construction of a new periphratic turn based on an existing model, the development of metaphors, and the creation of linguistic play.

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