SEMANTIC SHIFT AS A MECHANISM FOR EXPANDING THE VOCABULARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN VIRTUAL DISCOURSE

Background. The article examines the phenomenon of semantic shift and its types in the context of their role in the process of replenishing the vocabulary of virtual discourse. The relevance of this study is due to the fact that this type of discourse is constantly replenished with new vocabulary, which necessitates studying the mechanisms of this process. This paper examines various subtypes of semantic shift as a mechanism for replenishing the vocabulary of the English language within virtual discourse. The purpose of the work is to study the phenomenon of semantic shift and identify its most frequent types as a way of replenishing the vocabulary of virtual discourse in English. Materials and methods. The main research method in this work is component analysis, which was used to identify the specifics of the meaning of a new word in comparison with the base word. The continuous directional sampling method was used to select examples of neologisms of modern English-language virtual discourse. The contextual method and quantitative methods were also used. Results. The results of the study showed that semantic shift is a highly productive way of the emergence of new vocabulary within the framework of the virtual discourse of the English language. The types of semantic shift that are the basis for the emergence of new words are varied and include the following: metaphorical transfer, metonymic transfer, deterioration of meaning, improvement of meaning, narrowing of meaning, expansion of meaning, and hyperbolization of meaning. The most frequent types of semantic shift as a mechanism for the emergence of new vocabulary within the framework of virtual discourse in English were identified, which include metaphorical transfer, metonymic transfer, and deterioration of meaning. The high frequency of the latter is presumably associated with the widespread need to express the communicative intention of criticism in modern virtual discourse and the search by native speakers for new lexical tools to express this intention. Practical implications. The results obtained can be used for further study of the issues of replenishing the vocabulary of virtual discourse and semantic shift as a way of replenishing the vocabulary of the English language according to various thematic references.