Evaluative Potential of Nouns in the Russian Language

Abstract

Specifying evaluation expression through the words representing differ-ent parts of speech, the article considers the evaluative potential of nouns and explores a possible correlation between the semantic and grammatical charac-teristics of substantive words, as well as their ability to play the role of evalua-tive qualification means. The author of the article makes a supposition that the noun has the greatest evaluative potential. The article reviews the capability of nouns that belong to different lexi-cogrammatical classes (proper, collective, material, abstract, and personal ones) for including an evaluative component of meaning into their semantics. It identifies the most important groups among the mass of evaluative units –the nouns having the meaning of person or a collective of persons or abstract nouns. The author notes that the thematic grouping, the character of connota-tions inherent in some groups of collective nouns, proper names, and common-language metaphors reflect the ethnic axiological reference points for assessing the qualities of a person.Opportunities for using substantive words in the evaluative function graphically demonstrate that only nouns can become proprial units. Names with evaluative connotations turn into symbols, which bring up evaluative associa-tions within the space of national culture.Ability of the noun to convey the evaluative signal is supported by the abundance and variety of suffixes that impart the evaluative component to de-rivative substantive words.The noun special status as a tool for generating the evaluative pragmat-ics of an utterance is supported by its syntactic multifunctionality.By denoting values, anti-values, and specific ethnic concepts, nouns play the main role in the verbalization of the national axiological hierarchy. They reflect the newly appearing realities and denominate the new meaningful no-tions of social life.