DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN MEDIA: PRAGMATIC AND COGNITIVE DIMENSIONS

Abstract The construction of national identity in contemporary Ukrainian media represents a complex discursive process shaped by historical memory, geopolitical transformation, and sociolinguistic dynamics. In the context of rapid political change and ongoing conflict, media discourse performs not merely informative but constitutive functions. It frames collective experience, stabilizes symbolic boundaries, and negotiates narratives of belonging and otherness. This study investigates the pragmatic and cognitive mechanisms through which Ukrainian media discourse constructs national identity. Drawing on discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics, and media pragmatics, the research examines how lexical choices, metaphorical framing, narrative positioning, and evaluative structures contribute to identity formation. Particular attention is given to the interaction between collective memory, linguistic representation, and pragmatic intention. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that national identity in contemporary Ukrainian media emerges as a discursively negotiated construct shaped by strategic communicative choices rather than as a fixed sociocultural entity.