Nicknames as Emotionally Evaluative Social Identity Carriers

Abstract

The paper analyzes the social pragmatic and emotionally expressive functions of nicknames. We identify nicknames as emotives, the lexemes that can be applied to one of the emotion categories. This study demonstrates that nicknames are semantically related to basic emotions models (Pride, Disgust). Positive and negative emotions are an integral function of the existence of a human as a whole spiritual personality and as a biological species. Emotional meanings that reflect basic human emotions are universal, and their manifestation in nicknames’ lexical nominations vary with degrees of depth and different pragmatic aspects. Emotion lexemes express positive or negative emotional evaluation, the subjective determination of the object's status, emotionally expressive approving or disapproving of somebody or something. Estimating the activities of others and expressing emotional evaluation, subjects of nicknames’ nominations intend to influence human behavior by specifying the recipient at risk to become the object of public condemnation and social disapproval, and mockery. The main reason for nicknames’ formation in the English language is the perception of the environment by a person both positively and negatively – socially-evaluated. Reflecting the general culture of English society and culture within the individual, in particular, nicknames create socio-cultural symbols, and cultural universals, indicating the traditions of people, habits, lifestyles, tastes, and ideas.