Precedent Names from Source Domain “Sport” in the British Media Discourse

The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics of the functioning of precedent names from the source domain “Sport” in the UK media discourse. The material of the study is precedent names used over the past 20 years in the British media (BBC, The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, The Daily Post, The Daily Record, The Daily Star, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, The Mirror, The Star, The Sun, The Times, etc.). The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the cognitive and discursive paradigm. In accordance with the goal, this study uses a method of studying precedent names derived from a source domain. Based on the analysis of practical material, it was revealed that it is the outstanding athletes of Great Britain who become role models for the British, and the corresponding British onyms become a source of precedence. The repertoire of precedent names reflects the extra-linguistic features of sports competitions that are of an agonal nature. At the same time, British precedent names from the source domain “Sport” also show cultural specificity – the leading place is occupied by onyms related to football, which is natural, given that England is considered the birthplace of this sport. This sports game occupies such an important place in the picture of the world of the British that the names of famous football players are used as standards for designating talent not only in sports, but also in other activities, which is not typical for the names of athletes from other sports. Thus, the more developed and familiar to a native speaker a certain source domain, the higher the probability of using its content as a standard for conceptualizing the current reality.