FUNCTIONAL AND PRAGMATIC FEATURES OF EPONYM-BASED OCCASIONALISMS AND NEOLOGISMS IN MODERN ENGLISH

Abstract

The present paper aims to examine eponym-based lexemes in modern English. The background of the study is predetermined by the importance to observe what changes the English language undergoes with the flow of time, which affects languages throughout the world. The object of the study is lexemes formed from eponyms, namely the names of the USA presidents of the beginning of the 21st century (George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump). Special attention is given to the functions and pragmatic features of eponym-based occasionalisms and neologisms which are outlined and analysed according to the classifi cation suggested by Cho Dzheisi. As a result of thorough examination of the collected data it is revealed that wordplay, language economy principle, expressiveness and dysphemisation are the main characteristic features of the analysed lexical units. These findings highlight the fact that linguistic creativity phenomenon has already outgrown works of fiction and mass media discourse. Further analysis of eponyms will make it possible to better understand the transformational processes of the modern American English
language.