Trends in Mutual Transpositions of Lexical and Grammatical Noun Categories in Russian Language

Abstract

This study addresses the gap in understanding the lexico-grammatical-structural types of nouns, particularly how lexico-semantic variants gain new connotations during transposition. Drawing upon Babaytseva’s theory of transitivity phenomena and building on Mel’chuk’s text semantic theory, we identify the schemes and mechanisms of transposition relations concerning the lexical and grammatical categories of modern Russian nouns, by analyzing transposition phenomena and their semantic mechanisms in 660 Russian nouns with indefinite denotation and lexical and grammatical status. The research details all possible immigration transpositions of the lexical and grammatical categories of nouns at the minimal context level and their mechanisms. Findings reveal that approximately 27% of the examined nouns carry connotative meanings, encompassing functional-stylistic, cultural-ethnic, and emotional-evaluative facets. Additionally, the transposition of nouns can occur within or between categories. The principal mechanisms of transposition at the syntagmatic level include metaphors and metonymy. Transpositions at the lexical and semantic categories of nouns coincide with several phenomena: changes in the numerical paradigm, phraseologization, connotation, and the unveiling of the noun’s stylistic potential.