Linguistic modeling of the discursive practice of “cancel culture” (based on definitions in English online dictionaries)

The study aims to identify the essential semantic components of the lexical unit “cancel culture” in English online dictionaries. The paper analyzes, compares, and interprets the semantic content of the lexical unit in order to reveal its seme structure, as well as elements that may not be explicitly reflected in the definition, but are part of its implicit meaning, i.e., such elements that are almost always derived from the analysis of constituent semes. The scientific novelty of the study lies in constructing a linguocultural model of the discursive practice of “cancel culture” based on seme description and the unification of explanatory keywords in dictionary entries for the lexical unit “cancel culture”. As a result of analyzing the internal structure of the semantic meaning of the term “cancel culture” in English online dictionaries, the reasons for the ambiguous interpretation of the sociocultural phenomenon of cancel culture were identified. The variable subject-object relations of participants in cancel culture, who perform the triggering, initiating, and executive functions, were described. The permanent components in the linguistic model of the discursive practice of “cancel culture” were highlighted: punishment, mass participation, publicity.