Позивні учасників АТО й ООС — творення та функціонування

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the creation and functioning of the military nicknames (call signs) in the Ukrainian military formations during the Antiterrorist Operation and Joint Forces Operation in the Eastern Ukraine (from 2014 to the present day). The analysis is based on the anonymous poll among Ukrainian veterans. The information about 500 military nicknames was gathered i.e. the history of their creation, the peculiarities of their functioning etc. The most typical models and ways of creation were described. Further parameters were analyzed: the functional peculiarities, formal requirements, typical size (one, two, three and four syllables). The influence of the following social categories was explored: regional origin, gender, education, language (Ukrainian, Russian, bilingualism). 85 % of the respondents —males, 15 % — females. The age of the respondents — from 20 to 72 years (the most numerous group — from 30 to 45 years). The most typical models of nickname creation are as follows: from name (name, surname, patronym): from profession, hobby, occupation; from character traits, intellectual skills; from appearance (haircut, tattoos, garments); from famous person or character (literary or cinema); from personal military history (former places of service, battle histories, military rank); region/city of origin, ethnic identity; from child and youth nicknames; occasional (the less typical creation models). Quantitative correlation of the nicknames created by the soldiers themselves and by their colleagues was analyzed, taking into consideration the various models of military nickname creation. The analysis includes the peculiarities of functioning of the military nicknames of Ukrainian veterans after the end of their service — do they use them after they leave military sphere, how often etc. The most popular military nicknames are gathered from the military nickname dictionary, composed by Y. Kopytko on the basis of the ‟Book of Memory of the fallen soldiers of Ukraine”.