Desemantization as a specificity of everyday communication

Abstract

Introduction. The problem of desemantization in linguistics is considered from different sides: as a consequence of the development of the meaning of a word, as a phenomenon caused by the weakening of the nominative function, as a result of the influence of its lexical compatibility on the development of the meaning of a word. The relevance of the article is based on the lack of works devoted to various manifestations of the process of noun desemantization in modern colloquial speech. The purpose of the article is to identify the specifics of the semantic structure of names, the significativedenotative component of which is reduced in colloquial speech.Materials and methods. Russian dictionary definitions of a number of lexemes and a selection of texts including these nominations from the National Corpus of the Russian language served as the material. The following methods were used: component analysis, the method of definitional analysis of dictionary entries, the comparative method, and the method of contextual analysis.Analysis. Based on the collected material, the author identifies three groups of nouns with different types of desemantization, as a result of which special meanings are formed: a) a pronominal meaning, b) an independent evaluative meaning, on the basis of which a homonymous interjection can arise, c) a numerological meaning acting in unity with an emotional-evaluative one. The author reveals that the pronominal meaning or use is characterized by accentuation of the blurred designation of the subject of reality, attention to its general generic affiliation, indication of the subject, the presence of an antecedent or postcedent. In the second type of the desemantization process, the name has a pragmatic component as the apex of its meaning, and its significative-denotative component is located on the periphery. In the third form of the process of desemantization, a noun that has in its main meaning a component “a significant excess of standard characteristics” acquires diffuse semantics, in which both numerological and pragmatic components are present at the same time.Results. In general, the material allows the author to conclude that colloquial everyday communication is based on superficial knowledge, which is reflected in the various types and results of the desemantization process in the content of the presented noun groups.

Keywords

• meaning
• noun
• desemantization
• diffuse semantics
• colloquial speech