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

Abstract

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.