Understanding the Typical Borrowing of “Superman” in the Russian-Language Media Discourse

Globalization as a factor of the formation of new behavioral patterns in the communicative practice of the host culture is closely related to the phenomenon of character type borrowings, which include the lexeme superman. The purpose of the investigation is to study the peculiarities of linguistic understanding of the character type borrowing superman in Russian-language media discourse. The study was conducted on the basis of data from the National Corpus of the Russian Language and included an analysis of the thematic contexts of the use of the lexeme nominating the character type borrowing superman in texts belonging to various genres of media discourse. The character type “superman” has been established to be embedded in the system of basic concepts of Russian culture and form the following value oppositions: in thematic contexts related to the field “Art, Culture and Leisure” the behavior of Superman, the hero of American films, based on the cult of physical strength and permissiveness, is interpreted as contrary to the moral ideals laid down in classical Russian literature; in thematic contexts related to the field of “Army and Armed Conflicts”, the opposition “superman” – “Russian warrior” is constituted according to the parameter of ability/inability to accomplish a feat; in thematic contexts related to the field of “Politics and Public Life” it is shown that in American society “superman” is understood as a symbol of the fight against enemies and for social justice. In the Russian-speaking space it acquires negative connotations, since it describes a politician as the one not able to instantly solve social problems of society; in the thematic area of “Health and Medicine” the image of Superman reflects his commitment to a healthy lifestyle and is characterized by a high level of self-control, which is frowned upon in Russian-language media discourse. We conclude that the linguistic understanding of the borrowed character types in the media space introduces new conceptual features, due to the value system of the host culture.