Coronaviral Discourse as a Source of Increased Military Methaphorization

Recently, a large number of texts on the COVID-19 pandemic have appeared in the Russian media (both national and regional), on various Internet resources and in colloquial speech, which allows us to talk about coronaviral discourse — a new type of discourse in the Russian language. The article analyzes metaphorical use of the vocabulary of the semantic sphere “war” in these texts. As a result of the study, it was established that metaphorical usage of military vocabulary in coronaviral discourse can be attributed to six thematic groups: “Names of military operations and methods of warfare”, “Names of types of weapons and military machinery, their elements, properties and storage locations”, “Names of places of military hostilities and military service”, “Names of types of military art”, “Names of items of uniforms and equipment of military personnel” and “Names of arms of military forces”. As in other types of discourse of the modern Russian language (sports, politics, theatre, etc.), vocabulary of the semantic sphere “war” in metaphorical use is most often presented in the thematic group “Names of military operations and methods of warfare”. Also, as a result of the analysis of the processes of metaphorization of military vocabulary in the coronaviral discourse, it was established that metaphorical transference is most often motivated by the seme “protection”, which is probably due to one of the primary human instincts — the instinct of self-preservation, which directs people in lethal situations, such as the conduct of hostilities and the fi ght against the COVID-19 pandemic.