Semantically related borrowings mentor — kouč — tutor in the Czech and Russian languages

Abstract

The change in the vocabulary of the Russian and Czech languages is largely due to borrowings. Different interpretations of the semantics of words and vague semantics do not affect the popularity of these words among native speakers. The article describes the search for an accurate translation and semantic systematization of the synonymic series mentor (ментор) — kouč (коуч) — tutor (тьютор) in the Czech and Russian languages. The proximity of the meanings of the the quasi-synonyms leads to difficulties in revealing the specifics of each word. Due to the similarity of the organization of the grammatical systems of the Russian and Czech languages and due to the similar process of the globalization in both languages the comparative approach is used. The research was carried out on the material of the search engines Google.ru, Seznam.cz, as well as the Czech database Neomat. In certain contexts these words are interchangeable with units from the recipient language, but in a relationship of complete synonymy, in our opinion, there is only a pair ментор — наставник in Russian language. We also noted the reasons for the active use of such foreign words: firstly, the absence of a functional-semantic equivalent in the receiving languages, and secondly, the assessment of such vocabulary as socially prestigious, fashionable, to which attention is paid.