“SANDBAG GENERATION” OR “HEAD-DOWN GENERATION”: LINGUISTIC REFLECTION OF THE MODERN GENERATION IN GERMAN-LANGUAGE DISCOURSE ON THE EXAMPLE OF EONYMS

Abstract

The article is presents a close analysis of culturally significant lexemes for German-language discourse, which are a result of linguistic reflection. The article introduces a new linguistic term – “eonyms” – into the scientific turnover to designate the key words of the epoch. The article investigates characteristic features of eonyms, paying special attention to the word-forming potential of the key words of the current moment. As a research task, the author analyzes German eonyms with the component “Generation”, which are selected among the words from the sociolinguistic ratings of “Words of the Year”. The author gives a generalized characteristic of eonyms reflecting the society’s view of the modern young generation, containing both negative and positive connotation. Such a view of studying the linguistic reflexion of a separate group of the nation’s representatives will be of interest to specialists in the field of linguoculturology and cognitive science.