Free Associative Experiment Research Articles

Сопоставление базовой ценности «родина» в немецкой и русской лингвокультурах

The aim of the study is to compare the “homeland” value in German and Russian linguocultures. The paper determines the content of the lexemes “Heimat” and «родина» (homeland) as an invariant of the same basic value. Subsequently, the content of the lexemes is compared with the psychologically relevant content of the basic values of “Heimat” and «родина», which in turn is identified based on the analysis of data from the author’s free association experiment involving native speakers of German and Russian linguocultures aged 17-23. Scientific novelty lies in confirming the hypothesis that the “homeland” value belongs to the rank of basic values, in determining differences in the content of the “homeland” value in German and Russian linguocultures, as well as in the method of processing the material: comparing experimental data of the free association experiment and lexicographic data. It is important to note that the study is conducted on the basis of empirical material and, therefore, its findings are reliable and relevant. As a result, it is the first time that a difference in the content of the value under consideration has been determined: for Russians, “homeland” is always associated with the place where they were born and spent their childhood; for Germans, a new “homeland” may appear, which is associated with extralinguistic factors.

АКТУАЛЬНІ ПИТАННЯ ПСИХОЛОГІЧНОГО БЛАГОПОЛУЧЧЯ МОЛОДІ ПІД ЧАС НАВЧАННЯ ЗА ВІЙСЬКОВИМ ПРОФІЛЕМ: ПРИКЛАД УКРАЇНИ

The article provides a comparative analysis of the importance of factors of psychological well-being of youth studying for a military profile in the pre-war and post-war periods. In the study, preference was given to the psycholinguistic research method, namely, the free association experiment. The associative experiment was conducted in December 2022. The indicators for the period of October 2021 were chosen as the basis for a comparative analysis of the importance of factors related to psychological well-being in the pre-war and post-war periods. The russian-Ukrainian war became a major traumatic event for young people, which they are unable to explain within the framework of their previous experience, which was reflected in the increase in the specific weight of the thematic group "Establishment and regulation of relations with the environment". There was a significant increase in the specific weight of the "Life goals" thematic group. At the same time, there is a mutual connection between the associations of the thematic groups "Life goals" and "Self-acceptance", which indicates a high level of development of a sense of coherence among cadets. In peacetime, the most important factor in the psychological well-being of cadets is self-acceptance. In wartime, the central role in maintaining/increasing the psychological well-being of young people is played by the actualization of a life goal, which can also be considered as a strategy for overcoming a specific stressor. Updating the life goal is extremely effective for young people studying for a military profile in terms of maintaining/increasing psychological well-being, because the life pattern of the cadets, which already provided for the performance of military duty, does not require either a change in the life scheme or a change in the perception of a stressful situation, for example, searching for its positive aspects.

МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЕ КОНЦЕПТА ПЕНСИЯ: ЭКСПЕРИЕНЦИАЛЬНЫЙ ПОДХОД

This article aims to model the nominative field of the concept PENSION in the logical and experiential approaches. Using the method of the conceptual and definitional analysis, we analyze the objective semantic features in the meaning of the lexeme “pension”. The conceptual characteristics, reflected in the ordinary consciousness of young speakers of Russian linguo-culture, are revealed on the basis of free associative experiment data. Free associative experiment was carried out among 99 students (17-25 years old) of the Philological Faculty of the RUDN University. The data of the free associative experiment allow us to reveal the connections of the concept PENSION with the concept OLD AGE in the conceptual system of the Russian linguo-culture.

Ассоциативный эксперимент в изучении системы представлений обучаемого о дидактической коммуникации

The article is devoted to the subjective image of didactic communication that develops in the learner during educational interaction. The main research method was a free associative experiment. The key stimuli of the associative experiment reflected the main aspects of didactic communication: meaningful, organizational, interactive, spatial-temporal. Aspects of didactic communication were interpreted on the basis of the author’s model of educational interaction. Results of the study: according to the results of the study, the associative fields of stimuli and the predominant types of associative reactions of students associated with the perception of the process of didactic communication were determined.

Фрейм «ОДИНОКИЙ ЧЕЛОВЕК» в русском языковом сознании: лингвокогнитивный подход

The article is devoted to the semantic-cognitive modeling of the frame "lonely person" on the basis of the results of a free associative chain experiment on the stimuli "lonely", data from Russian dictionaries and illustrative material from the National Corpus of the Russian Language. In the structure of the frame, nine slots and their terminals are allocated, related to three spheres of a lonely person's life: the physiological sphere, the internal sphere of a person, and the sphere external to the subject. As a result of the study, a schematized model of the frame is presented.

ПСИХОЛІНГВІСТИЧНІ АСПЕКТИ НЕОЛОГІЗАЦІЇ

The article is dedicated to the experimental investigation of the neologisms’ status in the mental lexicon of the person. The main object of the analysis was the associative reactions of the individuals to the new loanwords, which are often used in mass media speech, gathered during the conduction of the free association experiment. The focus is on the investigation of the neologisms’ semantics, types of associative connections, and features of the functioning of these units from the aspect of psycholinguistics and linguistic and cultural studies. Psycholinguistic aspects of the process of neologizing and strategies to identify the new word’s meaning are observed. An experimental study proves that the perception of neologisms occurs with the use of universal identification strategies. A new word as a unit of a person’s internal lexicon wants to comprehend new realities that are in constant dynamics, which are a means of access to the individual’s information base and requires comprehensive research. Learning a new word plays an important role in restructuring the connections between the units of the speaker’s lexicon. Its renewal takes place to develop the knowledge of new associative connections, to restructure, to occur the new individual contents, and to fill a single vocabulary with new perceptual-affective contents. Neologisms that are in the final stages of assimilation by the recipient language have more varieties of associative reactions than little-used neologisms stimulus. When analyzing the results of the experiment, a distinction should be made between a neologism of its own and a word that is simply new to the speaker and that has not occurred before in individual speech experience. The analysis of the results of the experiment shows that the objective novelty of neologisms does not always coincide with the subjective novelty of stimuli perceived by informants. The internal form plays a significant role in the perception and understanding of neologisms. All the diverse information carried by a new language unit interacts with a complex system of individual and collective norms and assessments, their frequency and scope of use, and the age of acquisition and is stored with a certain set of strategies.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT OF MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL OF THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE (PSYCHOLINGUISTIC ASPECT)

The aim of this article is to study the structure of organizational commitment as well as the psychological and behavioral mechanisms behind it among groups of military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Based on the assertion that the army has an authoritarian (directive) style of management characterized by principles of unity of command and high centralization of leadership, in this work with the purpose of getting the sincere answers and reliable results the preference was given to the psycholinguistic method of research, namely, free association experiment. The results of the study proved that there are significant differences in the structure of organizational commitment when it comes to the position of individuals in the military hierarchy, that is, whether they hold a military/civilian position or are just beginning their military career as cadets. Dominant element in the structure of organizational commitment of civilian personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is affective commitment, in relation to servicemen it is continuance commitment, in relation to cadets it is normative commitment.

Associative image of the Homeland in the language picture of the world of Ukrainian youth

Background. According to lexicographical sources, the semantics of the concept of the Homeland are dominated by the components ‘land’ (‘country’), ‘inheritance’, ‘father’, ‘family’, ‘native’, ‘property’, ‘origin’, ‘genesis’. They are sufficient, but they significantly limit the entire range of meanings, connotations, and associations that can be associated with the Homeland and do not capture the shades of meaning corresponding to the current socio-political and cultural situation.Contribution to the research field. The present study helps us to understand changes occurring in the meanings of words. In particular, the results show the dynamics in the perception of the Homeland, differences in the traditional lexicographic meaning and associative image.Purpose. The purpose of the article is to investigate the associative image of the Homeland concept, which was formed in the language picture of the world of Ukrainian youth.Methods. The written free associative experiment was conducted in April 2022. As a result, 1,009 questionnaires and 1,215 associations on the Homeland stimulus were collected. 253 types of reactions were identified.Results. The experiment showed that young Ukrainians most often associate Ukraine, mother, and home with the Homeland. 8% of responses are determined by the region of residence of the participants. Associations form thematic groups around the concepts of family, home, national symbols, values, and combat. A sense of belonging, ownership, kinship, love, warmth, pride, and happiness is important. Freedom and life become integral values. In the national picture of the world, the Homeland is visualized through the colours of the blue-yellow flag, embodied in Ukrainian nature.Discussion. The verbal image of the Homeland for a modern young Ukrainian has little to do with politics or ideology, instead emotional, imaginative and value components prevail. Despite the war, ideas about the Homeland did not become radicalized and did not acquire aggressive or militant features. On the contrary, the associative image of the Homeland reflects the perception of it as a place of love and warmth, a native home, a fatherland, and the highest value that must be protected.

Psycholinguistic Study of Values of Kazakh Language and Culture Bearers

The culture sets a certain way of vision and recognition of the world, creation of certain forms of activity for a person through language, system of norms, ideals, symbols and values.
 The purpose of the study is to explore the Kazakh language and culture bearers’ cultural values through the psycholinguistic approach.
 Methodology of research is a free word association experiment, revealing the national and cultural specifics of the images of consciousness of speakers of a specific language community and culture. 
 Conclusions. The study results revealed the core values of Kazakh culture, such as traditions, hospitality and language. The near periphery of the associative field “cultural values” included national upbringing, humanism, culture, and respect for elder people.

UKRAINIAN MENTALITY THROUGH THE PRISM OF PHRASEMES OF ANCIENT ORIGIN: LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL ASPECTS

The mythology of Ancient Greece and Rome has become an inexhaustible source of images, concepts, deep meanings that have received their consideration in many linguistic cultures of the world and are manifested in a special way in each of them.
 Scientific research analyses the concept of mentality and outlines its main features. The article attempts to record the mental traits of Ukrainians in borrowed phraseological units. The object of the analysis is phraseological units selected from dictionaries, reference books and texts of several languages.
 The phraseological units soar in the empyrean (have one’s head in the clouds), hurl thunderbolts, lares and penates (return to one’s hearth and home), rise like a phoenix from the ashes, etc., have been analyzed. The article is an attempt to trace such features of the Ukrainian mentality as emotionality, cordocentrysm, anteism, love of freedom, etc., through the example of the studied phraseological units.
 The actualization of certain ancient images, the selection of mythologists and phraseological units, their transformations, variations, and the creation of new, proper Ukrainian phrases on the basis of borrowings – all this eloquently speaks of the assimilation of ancient motifs in the Ukrainian language.
 The results of a free associative experiment are indicative, which has made it possible to trace the actualization of the phraseme lares and penates on the modern linguistic soil. 466 respondents aged from 16 to 33 shared their associations. All responses were combined into semantic groups with a common lexical meaning. The survey confirmed the assumption of the presence of specific mental traits of Ukrainians in the internal form of the phraseme-stimulus.
 The collected and analyzed material makes it possible to assert that phraseological units of ancient origin acquired ethno-national features, adapted to the modern language world model and transmit key features of Ukrainian mentality.

Conceptualization of religion in Linguistic Consciousness of Kazakh Ethnicity

Religion is the only area where rational-analytical activity, which is obligatory for science, provokes a tense attitude towards itself. In this respect, the identification of religion as a concept, describing its content, structure, and development, as well as its impact on the nation causes a high interest.
 The article presents the results of a psycholinguistic study, the purpose of which was to describe the ways of conceptualizing religion by the representatives of the Kazakh language and culture, modeling the associative field “religion” in the Kazakh language, identifying the features of conceptualizing religion in the Kazakh linguistic culture. The material of the research was the data of psycholinguistic study conducted with the native speakers of the Kazakh language. The method of obtaining data was a free associative experiment with the registration of answers given for a certain period of time to the stimulus word дін / religion.
 The obtained associative data were distributed according to the frequency criterion, followed by modeling the associative field and its cognitive structure. The associative field “religion” in the Kazakh linguistic consciousness includes agents and artifacts of religion, rituals, beliefs, immaterial aspects, figures, and types of religion. The most frequent associations with religion in the Kazakh linguistic consciousness are мешіт / mosque (13%), Құдай / God (11%), сенім / faith (10%), Ислам / Islam (10%), шіркеу / church (9.5%), Құран / Quran (7.5%), жан / soul (7%), жарық / light (6%), атеизм / atheism (5.5%), дұға ету / pray (5%).
 The associative field “religion / дін” modelled as a result of the psycholinguistic study consists of the features ‘Islam’, ‘mosque’, ‘God’, and ‘faith’ in the centre of the field, and the features ‘bata’, ‘pray, ‘zeket’, and ‘oraza’ in the near periphery of the field model “religion / дін”, which demonstrates the relevance of these Islamic religious artifacts and acts to the Kazakh linguistic consciousness.

The Associative Field of the Concepts “Japan” and “ウクライナ” (Ukraine) based on the Results of an Associative Experiment among Japanese and Ukrainians as the Cultural Stereotypes Evidence

The paper attempts to identify and describe the typical cultural stereotypes of Japanese about Ukraine and0000000000000000 of Ukrainians about Japan on the basis of data gained from a free associative experiment based on stimulus words Japan and ウクライナ (Ukraine). The results of the free associative experiment revealed the associative field of the proper name concept Ukraine among Japanese (Russia, Africa, Europe, Uruguay, Uganda, cold, beautiful women, war, dangerous, black soil, Chornobyl), whereas the associative field of the proper name concept Japan contains lexemes samurai, geisha, sakura, Fujiyama, Fukushima, sushi, Sony, Toyota, anime. According to the qualitative classification of associations, the following are syntagmatic (Ukraine – cold, dangerous; Japan – distant, exotic) and paradigmatic (Ukraine – Russia, Africa, Europe, Uganda, Chornobyl, black soil, war, beautiful women; Japan – Fujiyama, Hiroshima, samurai, geisha, sakura, sake, sushi, Toyota, hentai), with paradigmatic associations being more widely spread. The peculiarity of the Japanese reactions to the word-stimulus Ukraine is the lack of individual reactions, but the presence of phonetic ones, which is explained by the shallow level of awareness of Ukraine in Japan. The prevalence of qualitative reactions with a negative assessment can be noted. A feature of the reactions of Ukrainians to the word-stimulus Japan is the lack of hyperonymic and phonetic reactions. Also, due to the great interest in Japan among Ukrainians, some individual associations can be found. In both cases, no synonymous and causative reactions can be explained by the characteristics of the stimulus words themselves. Many meronymic and qualitative reactions can be explained by those cognitive mechanisms being more accessible. As for the general image of Japan among Ukrainians, the image of exoticism and technology can be observed. The associative experiment proved that both nations are influenced by stereotypes about each other, which can be overcome through educational campaigns.

The Interdisciplinary Approach to the Conceptualization of the Image of the Arctic and the North in the Mass Consciousness: An Example of Russian Students

The article is devoted to the integrated interdisciplinary study of multiple aspects of the conceptosphere of the Arctic and the North and its representation in the collective consciousness of Russian students. The purposes of this paper are to examine the current status of the creation of an integrated paradigm of knowledge about the Arctic in humanities and the social sciences, and to draw conclusions about the emerging trends of understanding of the cultural and symbolic constants of the Arctic area. The respondents (students of Saint Petersburg Mining University) gave 2357 responses to the stimulus “the Arctic” in the course of the free associative experiment. The obtained associates were distributed into culturally significant thematic groups. The main thesis of this study is that the meaningfulness of the image of the Arctic and the North is in many respects determined by key ideas present in the collective consciousness, and by the life priorities and orientations of today’s young people. The idea of the extreme, severe conditions, and the danger of this region of the Earth dominates in minds of Russian students. Nevertheless, this land is rich in natural resources and is a unique platform for a wide range of research. A further tendency is identified in the formation of the image of the Arctic and the North in the mass media: new trends are affected by geopolitical factors, focusing on the pivotal role of the Arctic area as a territory of national interests. The creation of a “conflict image” of the Arctic region is counterproductive. In this regard, it is necessary to put into practice the concept of Arctic solidarity, in order to promote integration processes in the exploration of the circumpolar region.

Evaluative and quality assessment nominations in the Yakut Linguoculture

The article considers the national and cultural specifics of evaluative and quality assessment nominations in the Yakut linguoculture. The results of a free associative experiment highlight the systemic nature of images in a person's linguistic consciousness, as well as the national characteristics of words in the Yakut culture. The experiment materials representing a fragment of a person's verbal memory reveal the systemic nature of associative and semantic connections based on syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationships. It is necessary to associations that have special semantics, including a wide cultural and historical background. Extensive associative and semantic links develop both stable traditions and the peculiarities of mindset: devotion to the origins revealing the deep meaning of each word. Evaluative nominations as part of the language can become the key to understanding a person and their values-based worldview.

COSMONYMIC COMPONENT OF UKRAINIAN ONYMIC IDENTITY

The article is dedicated to the study of the cosmic component of the Ukrainian onymic identity. The concept of identity is just as relevant in the movement as one of the central sources of modern Ukrainian scientific thought. The analysis of the mechanisms of proper names in the context of cultural identity is the task of our research. The purpose of the article is to consider the issue of collective identity and how it is reflected in the field of proper names, namely - cosmonyms. Cosmonyms are one of the peripheric proper names. Their functioning and place in the onymic space of the Ukrainian cultural sphere is still understudied. In our opinion, the associative aspect of the cosmonymic sphere needs further studies, where the main segment should be the concept of cosmonymic space and which segments are the main levers of influence on cultural life and onymic identity. Identity can be portrayed as an ‘individual’ sense of self, defined by a) a set of physical, psychological and interpersonal characteristics that are not fully shared with any other person, b) a range of affiliations (eg ethnicity) and social roles. Onymic identity is based on collective identity as an understanding and isolation of a group in the environment. The vision of the similarity between individual and collective identities is based on the understanding that identity is never exclusively individual. Collective identity is rooted in a number of individual identities, which in turn are chosen by the individual. Thus, a person, based on a set of internal traits and social roles, becomes part of the socio-cultural collective identity, defines it and can influence it. Onymic identity is the realization of proper names in the collective discourse, by means of which a certain group separates itself from a number of other social groups, creates its own socio-cultural identity, which is based on a general ethnic paradigm. Free associative onymic experiment is one of the reliable methodological practices of onomastic search. The experiment was conducted with Ukrainianspeaking informants, a total of 200 people (100 informants each time). The peculiarity of our study is that the experiment was conducted in two stages in 2006 and 2021. Two stimuli were chosen for this study: cosmonyms – proper names for cosmic bodies, Uranus and Pluto. The results of the experiment are summarized in quantitative terms: the total number of all reactions/the total number of different non-duplicate reactions/the total number of anonymous reactions/ anonymous non-repetitive reactions/rejections. The number of all reactions together should ideally be 100, but may be greater if some informants provided more than one reaction, or less if there were refusals. Regarding the repertoire of different types of reactions that were proposed by respondents in two stages of the experiment on the stimulus Uranus, it is marked by a certain stereotype. The most common type of reaction is, as expected, hyperonymic, due to the search for the owner of the mental lexicon of denotation, which is denoted by the stimulus. The total number of such reactions is 109 (52 in 2006 and 57 in 2021). In the second place are meronymic reactions - 23 (9 in 2006 and 14 in 2021). The third place is occupied by qualitative reactions with a total of 16 (13 in 2006 and 3 in 2021). Contiguous reactions were not numerous, but almost always present in the experimental materials - 8 reactions (2 and 6, respectively). Causative reactions took place only in 2006 - 4 times. The repertoire of types of reactions to the stimulus Pluto is very similar. Hyperonymic reactions prevail 113 (51 in 2006 and 62 in 2021), which realize the dominant function of cognition. Meronimic reactions totaling 20 (9 in 2006 and 11 in 2021) and contiguous reactions totaling 4 (2 in 2006 and 2 in 2021), as well as isolated cases of qualitative (1 in 2006) and synonymous (1 in 2021) were also identified. Thus, the analysis of the associative field of the studied stimuli cosmonyms made it possible to establish universal memoplexes as the results of collective creativity and collective experience, which is reflected in the collective memory. The obtained results testify the isomorphism of the dominant domains of the structure of associative fields of the stimuli: COSMOS - CHEMICAL ELEMENT - GOD, which occurs contrary to the theonymic origin of the cosmonyms and the cosmonymic origin of the name of the chemical element. We see further prospects for the study in expanding the repertoire of onymyc stimuli in order to investigate the memopletic nature of their associative fields.

СТИЛІСТИЧНІ ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ ПЕРЕКЛАДУ АНГЛОМОВНИХ ДЖЕРЕЛ В СУЧАСНІЙ ІНТЕРПРЕТАЦІЇ МАЙБУТНІХ ФІЛОЛОГІВ

The article describes the general regularities of artistic text translation, which contain communicative-production and cognitive-interpretive components. The purpose of the article is to justify the stylistic perspectives of the translation of English-language sources in the modern interpretation of future philologists. The research material was authentic English and Ukrainian texts of works of art. The following research methods were used: general scientific hypothetico-deductive method; comparative analysis; analysis and synthesis; free associative experiment; Pearson's correlation analysis (correlation analysis of data) and others. The psycholinguistic analysis of these trends shows that individual translations systematically have deformation patterns that are a consequence of cognitive asymmetry in translations at the stylistic, morphological, and syntactic levels. According to the results of the research, there is confirmation of the relationship between the cognitive style of the translator's personality, respectively, and his degree of verbal creativity, which determines the stylistic representation of the translation of English-language sources in the modern interpretation by future philologists. The target versions of students of lower courses during translation are characterized by cognitive simplification, which leads to the distortion of the cognitive structure of the original source and prevents the alignment of the text according to the original, while the personal transformations of the individual style justify the narrative style of presenting information. On the other hand, the reverse tendency of the prerogative of cognitive complexity prevails among those who have acquired higher education, as a result of the increase in the equivalent of knowledge. Further perspectives on the topic of the research consist in clarifying the interrelationships of the laws of artistic text translation on the materials of other involved speech pairs and text genres.

Содержание концепта TREUE в немецкой лингвокультуре

The aim of the research is to identify trends and dynamics of the content of the TREUE concept. Scientific novelty of the research lies in conducting a comprehensive study of the concept, comparing experimental data of a free associative experiment and data from the German language corpus DWDS. The research findings have shown that the content of the TREUE concept changes dramatically. Represented by lexical units with a positive connotation in the nominative field and in the associative field of 2019, the content of the concept under study acquires properties with a negative connotation in the associative field of 2021. Respondents associate fidelity with the fear of losing a loved one, think about the consequences of infidelity.

АЛТАЙ-КИЖИ/АЛТАЕЦ как базовый концепт национального самосознания алтайцев

The study aims to describe the structure and content of the ethnospecific ALTAI-KIZHI/ALTAIAN concept in the linguistic consciousness of the modern Altaians. The results of a free associative experiment conducted by means of a survey in the Altai language served as the empirical basis of the study. The work is novel in that it considers the ALTAI-KIZHI/ALTAIAN concept as a communicator of the national identity of the titular nation of the Gornyi Altai. As a result, it has been proved that the ALTAI-KIZHI/ALTAIAN concept possesses a rich field and reflects important features of the national mental representations of the indigenous people of the Altai Republic about themselves, their belonging to the ethnic group and Altai culture.

Polycode as a Strategic Resource of Intercultural Communication

The study discusses the application of adaptive strategies in the process of cultural integration under the conditions of multilingualism, taking into account the dynamics of aggregation of foreign cultural elements in the linguistic consciousness of foreigners. The study was carried out in an interdisciplinary plane, integrating the developments of psycholinguistics, communication theory, linguoculturology and sociolinguistics. The work is based on the basic methods of conducting a free associative experiment, lexico-semantic analysis of the received reactions, contextual analysis and interpretation of verbal associations, interlingual comparison techniques, conceptual modeling techniques and linguistic and cultural commentary. The relevance of the research is due to the importance of the interactive interaction of languages and cultures that form the civilizational communicative space. The novelty of the undertaken research is related to the identification of the role of the multilingual cultural landscape as a translator of ethnic and national values by scanning the slices of the introduction of foreign cultural language segments into the linguistic consciousness of foreign students. The article is aimed at monitoring the multilingual diversity and the strategic repertoire of learning new foreign languages in the multicultural environment of the host country based on the data obtained as a result of a free associative experiment using the «adaptation in the country and region of education» stimulus. The results of the study indicate that the reactions to a complex stimulus obtained in a phased experiment made it possible to identify a core universal for the phased dynamics of adaptation in the structure of the field model of the associative layer of the concept and describe the content of cognitive features formed by the reactions. The analysis of verbal representations demonstrated the motivation for the use of communicative response strategies by foreigners and the specifics of embedding in a foreign cultural environment.

Unofficial toponyms in the linguistic consciousness of Yaroslavl residents: estimated component

The experiment is one of the effective ways to study the semantics of unofficial toponyms in the linguistic consciousness. The article presents a psycholinguistic description of unofficial toponyms of Yaroslavl. The toponyms is based on associative fields. We mean that unofficial toponyms are lexemes which are not fixed in dictionaries. In urban speech these toponyms have unofficial names of geographical objects. For the study, we chose two unofficial toponyms: Pyaterka and Bragino. Based on the results of free and directed associative experiments, we have formed associative fields of the corresponding toponyms. All the reactions received were divided into semantic groups. We compared semantic zones and evaluative reactions. This allowed us to identify the degree of mastery and peculiarities of the perception of unofficial toponyms by the linguistic consciousness of Yaroslavl residents. The following semantic zones were identified in the associative field obtained as a result of a directed associative experiment. These zones complement the zones of free associative experiment: "Spatial aspect", "Anthropological aspect", "Urban aspect", "Subjective-emotional aspect", "Visual aspect". On the one hand, the use of various experiments makes it possible to verify the data obtained, and on the other hand, it helps to significantly expand the semantics of the associative field, including identifying the evaluative component.