Associative structure of the concept Побратим / Sworn Brother in Ukrainian linguistic consciousness

Abstract

This study examines the concept of побратим (sworn brother) as a linguistic marker of unity, brotherhood, and social consolidation in contemporary Ukrainian consciousness during wartime. The analysis focuses on its associative field structure and its paradigmatic and syntagmatic connections. A free word association test revealed 226 verbal responses. The core comprises 136 responses (60.18%), the close periphery comprises 69 responses (30.53%), and the far periphery comprises 21 single responses (9.29%). Four thematic groups within the associative field were identified: names of persons (64.6%), names of objectified actions, states, and processes (18.58%), names of features, properties, and character traits (12.39%), and collective names for people (4.42%). Names of persons emphasize the individual dimension of brotherhood as a special type of interpersonal relationship—friendship, brotherhood, comradeship. This highlights the military context of the concept, as it has been actualized in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Names of objectified actions, states, and processes reveal brotherhood as interaction and a dynamic state of unity, support, and mutual assistance. The names of features, properties, and character traits form the moral and ethical core of the concept. They indicate a high form of human dignity grounded in mutual respect, trust, and moral responsibility. The collective names for people reflect the concept's collective nature. In this, brotherhood is part of a wider community—brotherhood, army, family, nation. The results show that the concept is mainly associated with the military community, friendship, mutual support, and trust. It functions as a cultural code shaping national and moral unity in wartime.