Proper names as an evaluative element based on the weekly “Crocodile in Western Ukraine” (Polish “Krokodyl na Zachodniej Ukrainie”) in the Polish and Ukrainian versions

Abstract

This article presents proper names which were used by Soviet (communist) propaganda in the weekly Crocodile in Western Ukraine (in Polish “Krokodyl na Zachodniej Ukrainie”). It was published in Lviv, in October 1939, in two language versions: Polish and Ukrainian. Based on a selection of language units, the author proves how anthroponyms, toponyms and chrematonims were designed to unite the community, to convince the people to believe government propaganda and to persuade them to behave in a desirable way. Furthermore, the author classifies the names into: historical, unhistorical — real, and unhistorical — unreal. Based on the analysis, the author claims that the names were the elements that evaluate positively or negatively, and that their selection was intentional as their connotations were supposed to strengthen a stereotypical perception of the world.