Modern military vocabulary in teaching English: linguistic and social aspects of mastering

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Modern military vocabulary in teaching english: linguistic and social aspects of mastering

Yuliia Styrkina, Poltava, Ukraine

The article is devoted to the linguistic and social aspects of mastering English-language military terminology and its relevance in modern life realities. The author offers the development of military vocabulary in foreign language classes, regular acquaintance with news from authentic English-language sources and the preparation of concise political reports on a daily basis. This should help students to activate passive vocabulary in oral speech, as well as keep abreast of events, read news on foreign sites, be able to talk about them in the media and social networks, conduct dialogues with native English speakers on modern topics. The article also notes that due to the large number of people resettled in Europe due to the war, there is a need to conduct dialogues on military issues, generally actively communicate abroad, so the author emphasizes the need to learn and activate the military vocabulary of modern university graduates.

Keywords: English military vocabulary and terminology; linguistic and social aspects of mastery; political news.

Юлія Стиркіна

Стаття присвячена мовним та соціальним аспектам засвоєння англомовної військової термінології та актуальності оволодіння нею в сучасних життєвих реаліях. У вступі до статті підкреслено, що ХХ та ХХІ століття відзначилися локальними війнами, терористичними актами, боротьбою з міжнародними злочинністю та подіями, котрі широко висвітлювалися англомовною пресою, у якій з'явилося багато лексичних інновацій, що й викликало потребу відобразити відповідні поняття. Проаналізовано праці вітчизняних і зарубіжних науковців, які досліджували порушені проблеми, зокрема становлення, семантики, деривації та тенденції розвитку термінологічних одиниць військової лексики (В. Виноградов, Г. Винокур, Б. Головін, В. Даниленко, Ф. Дорнер, Е. Жильбер, Т. Кияк, А. Крижанівська, К. Кусько, В. Лейчик, Й. Сміт, А. Ширмер та ін.).

Авторка зазначає, що запит на представлення сучасної військової тематики в навчанні англійської мови набув особливої гостроти з початком російсько-української війни, оскільки постала необхідність розповідати правдиві факти про події на фронті за кордоном і в соціальних мережах. На її думку, вивчення професійної військової англомовної лексики треба вводити на кафедрах військової підготовки. Пропонується опрацювання військового словника на заняттях з іноземної мови, регулярне знайомство з новинами з автентичних англомовних джерел та підготовка стислих політичних зведень щоденно.

Окреслено кілька розділів військової лексики: іменники, дієслова, фразеологізми, елементи сленгу, котрі пропонуються студентам для засвоєння. Перераховано сайти, на яких можна ознайомитись із сучасними англомовними новинами, подано інтернет- посилання та зазначено їх плюси й мінуси. Авторка оформлює добірку не менш сучасних засобів масової інформації (соціальні мережі твіттер, телеграм, інстаграм) та англомовні канали новин у них. Інноваційна військова лексика знайшла своє відображення не тільки у спеціальних ЗМІ, але й у тих, що розраховані на широке коло читачів, тому саме з них студенти можуть виокремити шар сучасної військової лексики, професійні терміни тощо. Чимало уваги, на думку авторки, має приділяється на кожному занятті проведенню 15-хвилинних політичних новин, які можуть допомогти студентам активізувати пасивну лексику в усному мовленні, ввести нову лексику в активний мовленнєвий запас, покращити вимову, відігравати роль своєрідної щоденної мовної зарядки, а також бути в курсі подій, читати новини на закордонних сайтах, розповідати про них у ЗМІ та соціальних мережах, вести діалоги з носіями англійської мови на сучасну тематику. Оскільки основні військові поняття і терміни будуть повторюватись постійно, студент має змогу добре засвоїти її та вправно використовувати в усному та письмовому мовленні. Завдання викладача полягає в тім, щоби слідкувати за правильною вимовою.

Зазначено, що через велику кількість переселених до країн Європи у зв 'язку з війною осіб виникає необхідність вести діалоги на військову тематику, загалом активно спілкуватися іноземною, тому наголошено на необхідності засвоєння та активізації шару військової лексики в сучасних випускників вишів. На жаль, зауважує науковка, сьогодення вимагає від сучасників, у тому числі студентів, вільного володіння цією лексикою для того, щоб мати можливість адекватно спілкуватися в соціальних мережах, зокрема закордонних, розуміти і правильно репродукувати інформацію щодо подій на фронті російсько-української війни. Для досягнення цієї мети запропоновано роботу зі словником військових термінів, знайомство з англомовними статтями на сайтах новин, а також щоденні політичні новини на заняттях з іноземної мови.

Ключові слова: англомовна військова лексика та термінологія; мовні та соціальні аспекти опанування; політичні новини.

Formulation of the problem

English is the official language of a number of international organizations: the European Union, the Council of Europe, NATO and others. Each science seeks to streamline the terminology it uses as much as possible and, by establishing a correlation between a word and a term concept, to achieve the maximum accuracy and conciseness of each term. But certain areas of knowledge are insufficiently studied. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries were marked by local wars, terrorist acts, the fight against international crime, and events that were widely covered by the English-language press, which introduced many lexical innovations. There is an urgent need to reflect the relevant concepts in English - one of the most important languages of the world community. This problem became especially urgent with the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as it became necessary to tell the true facts about the events on the front abroad and on social networks. It should also be noted that due to the large number of people resettled in Europe due to the war, there is a need to conduct dialogues on military issues, generally actively communicate abroad, so there is a need to learn and activate the military vocabulary of modern university graduates. In our opinion, the study of professional military English vocabulary should be introduced at the departments of military training. Innovative military vocabulary is reflected not only in special media, but also in the media, designed for a wide range of readers, so it is from them that students can distinguish a layer of modern military vocabulary, professional terms and more.

Analysis of recent research and publications. The integration and interaction of different sciences requires increased attention of scientists to the issues of terminology and the study of the functioning of terminological structures in various spheres of human activity. Problems of formation, semantics, derivation and trends in the development of terminological units of military vocabulary have been studied by domestic and foreign researchers, in particular V. Vinogradov, V. Leychik, G. Vinokur, B. Golovin, T. Kiyak, V. Danylenko, K. Kusko, A. Kryzhanivska, E. Gilbert, A. Schirmer, J. Smith, F. Dorner, and others.

The purpose of the article is to represent the linguistic and social aspects of mastering modern military topics in teaching English, outline the available sources of original texts of the journalistic genre, pay attention to work with them and the need to master the military vocabulary, especially taking into account his real information abroad and in social networks to native speakers.

Research methods: general scientific (analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, abstraction) in order to generalize the linguistic and social aspects of mastering modern military issues in teaching English; formal and structural-semiotic - to define a new lexical layer of military terminology, the active use of which, unfortunately, requires the present.

Presenting main material. With the outbreak of the war against Ukraine by the Russian Federation, there was an urgent need to expand the vocabulary of students through military slang and terminology. In our opinion, the main means of enriching the vocabulary are mastering the military vocabulary, constantly reading original texts about military events on news sites, as well as the active use of learned vocabulary in oral and written speech. Military vocabulary includes terminology that includes words used in connection with military concepts and emotionally colored elements of military vocabulary, which in most cases are stylistically synonymous with relevant military terms. The composition of modern military terminology is not stable. It is constantly changing due to the aging of certain words, the addition of new terms in the reorganization of the armed forces, the emergence of new weapons, military equipment and new methods of warfare. The most complex are military terms that convey the realities of English-speaking reality that do not exist in another country. Some innovations, especially phraseology, may be incomprehensible to many native English speakers detached from the military. It is possible to comprehend phraseology on the basis of context and analysis of its structure. For example, the phrase «fireworks display», which meant «fireworks», became metaphorical during the Gulf War - «the first reports of the bombing of Baghdad».

The structure of the verb «weaponize» and the context help to understand this word as «to equip the rocket carrier with weapons.» Expressive, «winged» military neologisms cause additional difficulties in understanding them. For example, the phrase «chicken hawk» means a person who supports the war, although in the past she has made great efforts to avoid military service. Background knowledge is necessary for an adequate understanding of the translator. Thus, the «gulliver effect» represents the case when a large target is attacked by the enemy simultaneously from different directions. For example, «Both events underscore the impact of what's coming to be called the» Gulliver Effect - «when a large target is attacked from many different directions at once» [Bank Systems + Technology, December 1996]. This is an allusion to the famous character of the work of J. Swift, who was defeated by the Lilliputians. Insufficient sociocultural competence of the translator leads to the creation of «communicative noise», which is an obstacle that reduces the effectiveness of communication and can lead to its termination. Emotionally colored words and expressions found in English military vocabulary arise for certain common reasons and have some common features when combining well-known and little-known words. At the same time, most of this vocabulary under appropriate circumstances can become widely used and become well-known. A common and well-known part of the emotionally colored layer of English military vocabulary consists of words and combinations that express certain military concepts. For example, for such a concept as «sift», there are the following emotionally colored synonyms: to dash; to drive; to forge ahead; to pour; to push; to race; to roll; to spear-head; to steamroll; to surge; to sweep; to thrust and others. Shoot-and-scoot missile means «rocket on a mobile launcher»; up-hill struggle; seesaw, ding-dong, tug of war - «battles with variable success»; Doom's Day weapon - “thermonuclear weapon”; cloak and dagger service - «secret service»; silent service - «submarine fleet». In the field of military vocabulary, there are often units that originated in oral language. Most of these units of military vocabulary have a positive emotional color. Well-known words and expressions are combined with well-known military terms in the formation of such vocabulary. Military slang is a specific part of the emotionally colored layer of English military vocabulary. For example, leatherneck - «Marine»; brass hat - «general»; - «soldier»; flat top - «aircraft carrier», loot - «lieutenant»; in the bucket - «in the tube» (deviation of missiles within specified limits); slick - «unarmed helicopter». Vulgarisms and jargons, which do not denote special military concepts, but are used more intensively in the armed forces of the United States and Britain than in other spheres, should be singled out as part of military slang. Some words and combinations of a specific part of the English military vocabulary have correspondences in the Ukrainian military vocabulary, for example, civ-vie Street - «civil service»; ack-ack - «anti-aircraft gun». However, such correspondences are very few.

To the vocabulary recommended for students in the process of preparation for daily political information, we recommend such professional terms as: aggression - aggression, ally - ally, ammunition - ammunition, armistice - truce, arsenal - arsenal, base - base, battle - battle, bivouac - overnight, bullet - bullet, bulletin - report, casualties - victims, ceasefire - silence, damage - damage, danger - danger, defense - defense, embargo - blockade, espionage - espionage, exercises - training, explosion - explosion , forces - troops, garrison - garrison, hostilities - military action, incursion - invasion, infantry - infantry, invasion - invasion, militant - guerrilla, onslaught - assault, ordnance - ammunition, recruit - conscript, reconnoitre - reconnaissance, salvo - volley, submarine - submarine, test - test, troops - troops, war - war. It is also necessary to learn such definitions of military action as: liquidate - eliminate, remove - eliminate, launch - start, run, prevent - prevent, maintain - save, suffer - feel, explode - blow up, renounce - refuse, settle - decide, defend - to defend, arm - to arm, fight - to fight, besiege - to besiege, capitulate - to capitulate, invade - to invade, mobilize - to mobilize, advance - to attack, repel - to reflect. The required vocabulary also includes the names of weapons: handgun - one-handed weapon, pistol - pistol, revolver - revolver, shotgun - shotgun, knife - knife, cannon - gun, artillery - artillery, rifle - rifle, sniper rifle - sniper rifle, grenade - grenade , firecracker - noise grenade, bazooka - grenade launcher, rocket - rocket, ballistic rocket - ballistic missile, land mine - mine, bomb - bomb, time bomb - time bomb, atomic bomb - atomic bomb. It is also desirable to get acquainted with examples of military slang: chair force - «force of the chair» (contemptuous of the consonant air force, air force), to dog a watch - to guard (sit over the clock like a dog), hit the silk - to jump with a parachute , nothing to write home about (nothing to write about it at home), half-bird - half-bird (if the colonel - a bird, then the lieutenant colonel - half-bird), leafer - major (in its form is an icon with a leaf - leaf), corp - corporal (short for corporal), leg - leg so paratroopers call other servicemen who have not undergone parachute training), gerry - German (abbreviated from German), itie - Italian (abbreviated from Italian), jap - Japanese (abbreviated from Japanese), hajii - haju (about an Arab or other Muslim from East), frog - frog (in relation to the French, as they eat frogs), house mouse - «house mouse» (the one who brings order to the site), apple polisher - helpful to the leadership of people, chow hound - glutton, chow - food, chow down - eat food, chow line - queue in the dining room, ammos - shoes , brain bucket - camouflage bucket (helmet), cammies - camouflage, go-fasters - sneakers (because against the background of military boots sneakers allow soldiers to move significantly faster), tommy gun - machine gun (borrowed from gangster slang expression), chatterbox - vibrating box (machine gun), egg - egg (grenade).

Constant reading of original texts about military events on news sites is also necessary for the perception and assimilation of military vocabulary. It develops reading skills well, expands vocabulary and automatically improves written language. In addition, students will be aware of world news from the first sources, and with an understanding of everyday vocabulary can easily cope with anyone with intermediate and higher levels. On one of the world's leading news resources, the American portal CNN, most publications can be read absolutely free. While other top sites offer to buy a subscription and then get access to full versions of the news. At the very end of the site, however, you can find a small section with paid content, but even without it, reading will be more than enough. CNN has a lot of news in English - about sports, politics, science, culture, travel and more. Some of the news is presented in video format, so you can also listen to auditions. The well-known New Yorker is also American, and it can also be read for free. If CNN appeared as a sequel to the TV channel, the New Yorker became a sequel to the print media. The edition has been published since 1925 and publishes not only news and reports, but also works of art in English: essays, poetry, anecdotes. On the site you can also find a section with videos and podcasts on current topics. The legendary British newspaper The Times is one of the most famous and oldest in the world, it has been published every day for more than 200 years since 1785. Here you can find current news, unique articles and reviews from renowned masters of modern journalism, as well as crossword puzzles and puzzles. News in Levels - all current news, and even about the presidential election in Ukraine, are presented here in three versions - for levels 1, 2 and 3. If students are unsure of their level of English, they can take a free test on the site. Each news item is accompanied by an audio version and exercises to practice listening and writing skills. VOA Learning English is a special site for learning English with the help of news. Here, all publications are also divided by language proficiency levels and presented in text and audio format. This resource also includes tips for learning English, video tutorials on grammar and dictionaries on various topics. BBC Learning English is suitable for students with a Pre-Intermediate level and above. Here you can choose a video on an interesting topic and watch it. Under the video there is a list of words to it and a transcript (text transcript of the video). During the second viewing, subtitles will appear on the screen, which will highlight the words from the list. At the end of the review, you will be asked to repeat the new vocabulary. English Club TV is suitable for students with levels from Elementary to Intermediate. Before watching the video, it is suggested to learn new words: the native speaker pronounces them several times, each word is explained in English and illustrated. You will then be asked questions that are answered in the video. Then - the report itself with subtitles. News stories are published several times a week, usually discussing two events in one video. Euronews - for students at least Intermediate - will be interesting for those who want to keep abreast of the latest developments and at the same time improve their English language skills. The resource presents unadapted news, which gives you the opportunity to listen to how different accents sound. You can open any news and include videos. If students find it difficult to catch the main idea by ear, read the summary below the video. If necessary, you can use any online dictionary and learn the meaning of unfamiliar words, so students get used to reading authentic texts and listening to native speakers in all its diversity. As on the previous site, each article on E-News is presented to students of three levels of language proficiency - Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced. In addition, they will be able not only to read the article, but also to listen to it. News is voiced by native speakers with a clear and understandable pronunciation. At the end of each article is a list of words with explanations in English.

Ukrainian media in English will also be useful, especially since many of them have an attractive form of telegram channels. This is, for example, media such as Ukraine: News Now (Telegram); War in Ukraine (Website); Ukrainian Truth (Web + Telegram); Hromadske (Twitter); The Kyiv Independent (Web + Twitter); Witnesses (Twitter); Ukraine NOW (Telegram); Suspilne (Twitter); WithUkraine 24/7 (Telegram); Official account of the Parliament of Ukraine (Telegram); Svidomi (English version of Instagram + English Twitter); UA-AID- Center (Website); Ukraine 24 (Twitter + Facebook); Stand with Ukraine (Website); Russia's losses: Approximate assessment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Web); Frontier (Patreon); UATV English (YouTube).

Vitalii Deineha, founder of the «Return Alive Foundation», has launched the Ukrainian Witness media project to inform foreigners about Russia's war. The initiative has already been launched on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram in different languages. «The purpose of the project is to capture and show the world the current war in our country. We need the support of the media, because we want to work together - to show the world the reality without distortion», - say the organizers. The project is already on the following platforms: Facebook (Ukrainian Witness, Ukrainian and English); Instagram (Ukrainian Witness, Ukrainian and English); Telegram («Ukrainian Witness», for Ukrainians); Telegram («Witness of Ukraine», for Russians). Ukrainian Witness receives exclusive videos and photos, including from the Ukrainian military. This content is broadcast with comments in English so that more people understand what is happening in Ukraine. The authors of the project also publish materials for Russian-speaking users on social networks, to which they still have access. So far, the Russian-language Telegram channel «Witness of Ukraine» has already gathered more than 100 thousand users.

«What they see in their media now is a brutal distortion of facts and events. Unfortunately, the sites of Ukrainian publications are blocked for them, so we are increasing our presence on Instagram and Telegram” - say the organizers. The main news about the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be available to our international audience. Also, Public News promptly reports on Russia's aggression against Ukraine in English on Twitter. «In today's chaos of information and events, it is important to be able to use primary sources. That's why we are launching English with Public Media Academy. We plan to help you better understand the news in English. Our issues consist of three parts: we watch news with subtitles; explain what individual words / phrases mean; we test our knowledge with the help of a test» - it is stated on the Public Media Academy channel on YouTube. Lessons will be published weekly on the Public Media Academy website and YouTube channel. Olga Andrienko, a lecturer at the Academy of Public Broadcasting and a project leader who has extensive experience in teaching English to other media organizations, will analyze English words and phrases on the example of real news stories. She said that the video will focus not only on possible unfamiliar words, but also on idioms or fixed expressions used in the news, their meaning and translation. «The main goal I would still call the ability to use acquired vocabulary in work or everyday communication,» said Olga Andrienko. It will be recalled that the Academy of Public Broadcasting is a department within the Human Resources Management Department of the National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine, which trains broadcasters and organizes training and educational events on media literacy for external audiences within the corporate social responsibility programs. For example, students may be offered the following text to read: Early on the morning of February 24th, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on state television that Russia will carry out a `special military operation' in eastern Ukraine. Moscow claims the `operation' is aimed at `denazification and demilitarization' of Ukrainian territory at the request of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk `people's republics', and is based on the right to self-defence. Russia also says that it does not attack the civilian population. But, the fact is, Russian armed forces have killed innocent people, including children and the elderly. Russia deliberately targets civilian infrastructure and falsely claims that it is Ukraine's army that puts people's lives at risk.

Mastering of military vocabulary occurs not only in reading and listening to relevant materials, but also when using it in oral speech. That is why, in our opinion, today's foreign language classes should organize and conduct 15-minute political news, which they would prepare at home and present in class. This will allow students to introduce new vocabulary into the active vocabulary, and since the basic military concepts and terms will be repeated constantly, to master it well and skillfully use it in oral and written speech. The teacher's task is also to follow the correct pronunciation, which will allow students to memorize new words accurately.

Conclusions

Thus, all military materials are rich in special military vocabulary, extensive use of military and scientific terminology, the presence of a number of stable phrases specific only to the military sphere of communication, a large number of military nomenclature and special abbreviations, symbols used only in military materials, in terms of syntax - the widespread use of elliptical and cliched constructions, concise form of presentation. All this is due to certain features that characterize the military sphere of communication: brevity, clarity and specificity of wording, accuracy and clarity of presentation, providing logical sequence of presentation, clear separation of one opinion from another, ease of perception of transmitted information. Unfortunately, today requires contemporaries, including students, to be fluent in this layer of vocabulary in order to be able to adequately communicate on social networks, including foreign ones, to understand and correctly reproduce information about events on the Russian-Ukrainian war. To achieve this goal, we offer work with a dictionary of military terms, acquaintance with English-language articles on news sites, as well as daily political news in foreign language classes.

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9Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. (2001). New York: Random House.

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