Nickname as identity: onomastic strategies of physicians in the Russian and Spanish Telegram segments

The article presents a comparative analysis of onomastic strategies used by medical professionals in the Spanish and Russian-language segments of Telegram. The relevance of the study stems from the large number of medical channels and the lack of research addressing the nickname as a tool for a medical professional's onomastic self-identification in the digital environment. The material comprises 600 channels (300 Spanish, 300 Russian) selected according to the criteria of the authors' professional affiliation and the meaningfulness of the nickname. Based on a set of parameters – communicative intention, mode of nomination, reference, type of constructed identity, and degree of linguistic creativity – eight strategies are identified: personal, professional, characterological, playful/creative, metaphorical, spatial, emotionally-identifying, and manifestative. These parameters enable a systematic description of nicknames as a means of identity construction. Quantitative analysis reveals cultural differences: the professional strategy dominates in the Spanish segment (48%), whereas the personal strategy prevails in the Russian segment (36%). The characterological strategy proves universal (14% in both segments). Cases of collective professional identity expressed through homophonic nicknames are also recorded. The findings suggest that the nickname can be viewed as a means of onomastic self-identification, and the proposed typology may be applied in cross-cultural research on digital onomastics

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