Феномен “Pochos” в контексте дихотомии «свой – чужой» (на материале мексиканского сегмента социальных сетей)

Abstract

The aim of the research is to identify the specificity of the linguistic objectivization of the Pocho’s image, as represented in the cognitive base of Mexicans. To attain this aim, the paper highlights several thematic blocks that provide an understanding of the characteristics of pochos that are most significant for Mexicans. The scientific novelty of the paper lies in examining this phenomenon in the context of the “us – them” issue, as well as in the research material itself. The paper is the first to identify the semantic features of the Pocho’s image by tracking the opinions of Mexicans presented in a unique form of communication in the online environment: user comments on social networks. The research findings suggest that a special situation has developed in Mexican culture, where an extremely negative image of “one of us” consciously rejecting one’s native culture and adopting the values of another culture is the intermediate member in the binary opposition of “us – them”. The transformation of the binary opposition of “us – them” into a gradual one in this case reflects the crisis of national identity that Mexicans have faced due to specific migratory processes occurring in the geographic area of their residence.