Коннотативные имена собственные постсоветского периода: особенности понимания и воспроизведения

Abstract

The paper presents the results of an experimental study of the proper names that have changed or acquired emotional and evaluative connotations over the last 30 years (the connotative names used in a figurative sense in the texts of different genres). The experiment, 200 respondents from Volgograd and Tyumen involved two stages: first, the degree of names recognition was determined, second, the level of reproducibility of these names in a figurative meaning was identified. Socio-political situation changes tend to lead to significant semantic shifts in the meaning of well-known connotative names. Of particular relevance is the post-Soviet period, a new stage in the history of modern Russia, due to having affected both the economic and political processes in the country and the value priorities of Russian society reflected in the language of the last three decades. Psycholinguistic methods for studying lexical semantics, namely, the method of addition and synonymous replacement and the method of restoring incomplete utterance, were applied to establish the features of understanding and reproducibility of connotative names of the post-Soviet period by native speakers of the Russian language. The results allow ranking the names according to the degree of recognition (low, medium, or high) and marking the levels of reproducibility (names with stable or lost connotations). The regional and age peculiarities of understanding and reproducing the connotative names of the post-Soviet period are noted. The prospects and relevance of the lexicographic description of the connotative names are determined.