Issledovatel'skiy Zhurnal Russkogo Yazyka I Literatury
Journal Summary Issledovatel'skiy Zhurnal Russkogo Yazyka I Literatury (Research Journal of Russian Language and Literature) is an international, peer-reviewed scholarly publication established in 2013 by the Iranian Association of Russian Language and Literature. The journal is published semiannually in both print and electronic formats, maintaining a B-ranking classification from Iran's Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. The journal specializes in original research articles spanning Russian linguistics and literature, with particular focus on general linguistics, comparative linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, functional grammar, literary criticism, linguodidactics, and translation studies. As an open-access publication operating under Creative Commons CC-BY licensing, it provides immediate free access to all content, supporting global knowledge exchange. Employing a rigorous double-blind peer review process managed through OJS platform, the journal ensures high academic standards while maintaining an acceptance rate of 73%. It is indexed in several reputable databases including Russian Science Citation Index (eLibrary.ru), Google Scholar, DOAJ, MAGIRAN, and ISC, with digital preservation through PKP Preservation Network. The journal serves as an important academic platform for scholars worldwide, facilitating the dissemination of research on Russian language studies and teaching methodologies in diverse linguistic and cultural contexts, particularly supporting the development of Russian language studies outside Russia.
Iranian Association of Russian Language and Literature
"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)"
ON THE LITERARY QUALITY OF “VOYAGE BEYOND THREE SEAS”
The article examines the aspects and manifestations of the literature of Afanasy Nikitin's “Voyage beyond Three Seas”. Attention is drawn to some plot and semantic oddities (double narrative, commercial gaps, quality of information, linguistic means, text addressing, questions of faith, the fate of the author) that need an adequate explanation. The presence of literature in the text, where it is not provided for, determines two research strategies – cryptological and theoretical. In the first case, you should check the origin of the text, clarify the attribution of authorship. In the second case, the text of the “Voyage” appears as a material for a theoretical understanding of the nature of literary text generation. The cryptological approach captures the moments that can be reclassified from random to natural. The article argues that the ontological reason for the literariness of “Voyage beyond Three Seas” is a literary paradigm that acts transpersonally and determines the features of the emerging work. The traveler and author of travel notes Afanasy Nikitin, the historiographer Karamzin, the orientalist Senkovsky and many other famous and unknown personalities involved in the creative history and receptive tradition of one of the most significant and mysterious literary monuments of Russian culture deserve grateful and unbiased study. Extended Abstract: This article examines the aspects and manifestations of the literariness of Afanasy Nikitin's "Voyage across Three Seas." Attention is paid to certain plot and semantic strangenesses—a double narrative, commercial lacunae, the quality of information, linguistic means, addressation of the text, questions of faith, and the fate of the author—that require adequate explanation. The presence of literariness in a text where it is not provided for predetermines two research strategies: a cryptological and a theoretical one. The cryptological approach seeks to verify the text's origin and clarify the attribution of authorship, reclassifying accidental moments into regular ones. The theoretical approach uses the text as material for comprehending the nature of literary text-generation. The article's thesis is that the ontological reason for this literariness is a literary paradigm that acts transpersonally and predetermines the features of the emerging work. The central theme is literary paradigmatics, not philological conspiracyology. The main problem is the ontology of literariness and the expansion of philological knowledge. The methodology of cryptoanalysis is a natural cognitive reaction to coincidences and strangenesses in the circumstances of the manuscript's writing and discovery. The Voyage is regarded as an example of immanent literariness in a non-artistic text. It remains to be seen whether this is conditioned by a generating context, an incorporated subtext, or another text-generation. Theory of literature and philological cryptology are equally necessary: one identifies the objective properties of literariness, the other helps specify the names of its subjectivity. Why these travel notes are considered a literary monument? A preliminary answer is that the text stands out for features causing an artistic impression. Literariness is the aesthetic quality of verbal art, the presence of an additional, internal, world-forming perspective. It is an aesthetic potential encouraging realization. The initial absence of an aesthetic distance is compensated by historical retrospection. A perceived wholeness absorbs and aestheticizes the text's negligences and unpretentiousness. The plot's duality is fundamental: a commercial trip transforms into a journey when the pragmatic goal is lost. The path acquires a goal in itself, and its description becomes potentially aesthetic. The hero's path contains spiritual trials of faith and identity. The image of the hero, combining "one's own" and "the other's," gains the universality of an archetype. The addressation of the text also exceeds the genre's goal-setting, potentially evolving from personal notes to a text for national reading, surpassing confessional regulations. These strangenesses encourage literary reflection. The narrative is double, with two distinct positions. Commercial lacunae, like the unexplained means for a five-year journey, are striking. The quality of certain information, such as military statistics, is difficult to obtain firsthand, raising questions about sources and language acquisition. The author's death near Smolensk is ideal for a literary biography, providing closure and preserving an aura of heroism and mystery. The publication history adds a cryptological dimension. The original is lost. It was discovered by Nikolai Karamzin—a writer, historiographer, and traveler who could appreciate its full significance. His authority is a strong argument, but the article explores the minimal probability of a literary mystification. It considers if a figure like the orientalist and famed mystifier Osip Senkovsky, who also used the name Yusuf during his travels, could have been involved, despite his young age at the time of publication. The academic stance is that this is impossible, while cryptology would term it improbable. In conclusion, the signs of literariness in this text require a dual investigation. Theory of literature analyzes its objective properties, while philological cryptology examines the potential agents of its subjectivity. All figures involved in the creative history of this significant and mysterious monument deserve grateful and unbiased study.
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TRAVELOGUE AS A LITERARY ENCOUNTER WITH ANOTHER: THREE AFRICAN PLOTS
The article presents a travelogue in various literary forms as reflection of a meeting with Another. This may be a discovery, both expected and unexpected. The journey is motivated by an interest in what at first appears to be alien, unknown, hints at complex content, promises heuristic surprises, which are associated with hopes for Something Else. Geographical and cultural sites with such properties were often sought just beyond the sea. During a trip around the world in 1853, I. A. Goncharov came to the interior of South Africa, their indigenous inhabitants, Blacks, Kaffirs, Bushmen, aroused his interest as representatives of Another breed of man, an ethnocultural group alien to him, and he got to know them in order to understand their characteristics and place among other similar groups. N. S. Gumilev went to Africa in search of Another One. He not only transferred his creative intuitions to African soil, but also strengthened them, extended them into the field of fiction and mythology. Above all the material that he found in his travels and which formed the content of his African poems, another topic arises, more intimate for Gumilev and more metaphysical in its meaning. It is present in him not in a consistent, distinct development, but in separate images, in associations. The purpose of the Italian writer A. Moravia's trip to Africa is to get her accurate information about the natural environment, about the social structure and about the mores of people in all the countries he visits. But along with the reality of Africa, Moravia also feels something different about the modern world. He sees here a clear evidence of the first days of peace, after which all subsequent development, from Adam to the present day, had to take place in the order described and predicted in the Old and New Testaments. Extended Abstract: This article presents the travelogue in its various literary forms as a reflection of the encounter with the Other. This meeting can become a discovery—both anticipated and unexpected. The journey is motivated by an interest in what initially appears alien and unknown, hinting at complex content and promising heuristic surprises linked to hopes for the Other. Geographical and cultural objects with such properties were often sought precisely beyond the sea. During his round-the-world voyage in 1853, I. A. Goncharov ventured into the interior of South Africa. Its indigenous inhabitants—Negroes, Kaffirs, Bushmen—interested him as representatives of another breed of humanity, an alien ethnocultural group, and he familiarized himself with them to understand their peculiarities and place among other similar groups. However, the sight of a Bushman evoked in the writer a painful sensation of encountering something almost subhuman, his own Other, which simultaneously identifies with man and denies him. N. S. Gumilev, in his search for the Other, travelled to Africa. He not only transferred his creative intuitions to African soil but also intensified them, extending them into the realm of fiction and mythology. Over all the material he found, which formed the content of his African poems, another, more intimate and metaphysically significant theme arises. It is present not in a consistent development but in separate images and associations, often of a religious-metaphysical order. In Africa, Gumilev found the Other of his internal images of a "God's garden" and a "golden age"—a neglected, wild paradise of a fallen man and fallen nature, where a "black Adam" begins human history anew, thereby negating the path of biblical Adam. The goal of the Italian writer A. Moravia's journey to Africa was to obtain precise information about the natural environment, social structure, and customs of the people in all the countries he visited. But along with the reality of Africa, Moravia also senses the Other of the modern world here. African landscapes directly inspire in the author the sensation that this nature is a visual testimony to the first days of Creation. He perceives the journey through the Sahara as a travel in metaphysical space, outside of history. It seems that even a thoroughly secularized European personality, remaining Christian in its origins, finds in Africa its religious Other—the ancient chaos and the fascination of a world where Adam remained in Eden. Thus, the primary and deepest motive in these travelogues is not simply the desire to see and describe new phenomena outside one's cultural experience. What drives a person, whether conscious before or during the journey, is the striving to psychologically and existentially recognize the Other—the Other as an otherness that is part of him and expands his subjective world.
TERMINOLOGICAL MICROSYSTEM OF THE SEMANTIC SPACE OF SUBSTANDARD LEXICAL UNITS: ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE «STRANGER» IMAGE IN CRIMINAL JARGON
The active development of substandard lexicography, which began at the end of the twentieth century, led to an increase in the number of studies aimed at describing and systematizing substandard lexemes, as well as representing images in the substandard linguistic picture of the world in differently structured languages. A significant part of the research has been conducted and is still being conducted on the basis of the Russian language, one of the most ancient, the vernacular vocabulary of which has more than a thousand years of history. Note, however, that the history of the lexicographic presentation of colloquial lexemes is not so long and on Russian-speaking soil has only about three hundred years. It is the reason for the active scientific search of researchers of the Russian vernacular language, especially in terms of the description of vocabulary, representing the figurative component in the Russian substandard linguistic picture of the world. The description of the semantic space of substandard lexical units deserves special attention. The present study describes the terminological microsystem of the semantic space of substandard lexemes, representing the image of "Stranger" in the Russian substandard linguistic picture of the world. Extended Abstract: The active development of substandard lexicography, noted at the end of the 20th century, has caused an increase in research aimed at describing and systematizing substandard lexemes, as well as the representation of images in the substandard linguistic picture of the world in differently structured languages. A significant part of this research is conducted on the Russian language, the vernacular lexicon of which has a more than thousand-year history. This study presents a description of the terminological microsystem of the semantic space of substandard lexemes representing the image of the “Alien” (Chuzhoy) in the Russian substandard linguistic picture of the world. The research adheres to a “narrow” approach, focusing exclusively on linguistic material from dictionaries of Russian substandard vocabulary. The semantic basis of nomination is emphasized as the most objective form of reflecting mental representations. The image of the “Alien” is a central figure in the substandard lexical fund, a role explained historically by the need to make speech incomprehensible to outsiders, thereby performing a conspiratory function. The semantic space of the “Alien” is defined as a system of meanings formed in the consciousness of the native speaker. This space is formed on the basis of characteristics that evoke exclusively negative emotions, coupling the image of the alien with the perception of danger, in binary opposition to the positive “Us” (Svoy). This complex concept is delineated by three main parameters: (1) “alien – thinking not like everyone,” (2) “alien – externally different from everyone, dissimilar,” (3) “alien – behaving not like everyone.” These parameters form the corresponding semantic subfields. A sample of 287 substandard lexemes (100%) was assembled from five dictionaries. The distribution across semantic fields is as follows: “behaving not like everyone” is the most relevant field (47%, 135 units), followed by “looking not like everyone” (31%, 89 units), and “thinking not like everyone” (22%, 63 units). Each subfield was further divided into specific subgroups, such as the representation of religious convictions or political views within the “thinking” subfield. The analysis identified 12 semantic groups. Nouns dominate the sample (70.7%). The largest share of lexemes falls into the “Social status” group (18.1%), while the smallest is in “Social characteristics (nationality, religion)” (2.8%). The structure of the groups is also presented in the form of semantic rows reflecting both synonymous concepts and binary oppositions. Thus, the semantic space of the “Alien” image is a formed, harmonious microsystem consisting of hierarchically built and interconnected elements. It reflects the perception of the studied image in the Russian-language substandard linguistic picture of the world. The conducted research serves as a base for analyzing the features of the representation of the “Alien” image in differently structured languages.
DEVELOPMENT OF READING SKILLS AT RUSSIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASS USING AFANASY NIKITIN'S NOTES “A JOURNEY BEYOND THE THREE SEAS”
Developing reading skills is one of the cornerstones of language learning. The article discusses the concept of “reading”, there are many incomplete definitions, but the authors provide a more complete one: “Reading is the process of extracting meaning from written texts. It is a complex skill that requires the coordination of interrelated sources of information”. For the student of Russian as a foreign language, reading is the way, and sometimes the goal, of learning Russian. Afanasy Nikitin's travel notes - a monument of Old Russian literature can be used in Russian as a foreign language lessons starting from A2 level. This unique literary work by a merchant from Tver, entitled “Voyage beyond Three Seas”, is a fascinating record of his journey to India in the period from 1468 to 1474. The authors of this article describe the methodology and stages of working with texts, they emphasize that every reading lesson plan should include three stages: the pre-reading, reading, and post-reading stages. According to constructivists, we create new knowledge by building on our prior knowledge. The ability to decode information from a text alone is not enough. Teachers should encourage students to use their own knowledge of the world and worldview to make sense of the text. This knowledge, often called schemas, is essential to the process of constructing meaning. The way reading skills are taught depends on what the teacher's goals are and how he or she constructs lesson plans. For this purpose, the teacher needs to decide on the objectives of the reading comprehension lesson. Teachers should activate students' knowledge of the topic of the text they are about to read by using the following activities: brainstorming, discussions, pictures, primers, prediction, and others. Activities during reading are exercises that help students focus on text features and comprehension. In addition to helping students better comprehend the text, these activities also help students to understand the text. The authors of the article have developed exercises to develop reading skills based on the work of Afanasy Nikitin. Extended Abstract: The dictionary definition of reading as "the action or skill of reading written or printed material silently or aloud" is deemed deficient, as it omits the crucial element of purpose. Typically, reading is undertaken with a specific aim, such as following instructions, locating particular information, grasping the main idea of a text, or for entertainment. For students of Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL), reading is both a method and sometimes a goal of learning the language. A more accurate definition is provided by Anderson: “Reading is the process of constructing meaning from written texts. It is a complex skill requiring the coordination of interrelated sources of information” (Anderson, 1985, p. 6). Consequently, this research raises the question: “How can the travel notes of Afanasy Nikitin, ‘Voyage across Three Seas’ (*Khozhdeniye za tri morya*), be used to develop reading skills in lessons of Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL)?” The subject of the research is teaching reading in RFL lessons, and the object is the use of Nikitin’s travel notes as a monument of Old Russian literature. Based on theoretical premises, the teaching of reading skills must adhere to several fundamental principles to be effective. These principles include recognizing reading as a purposeful activity; ensuring texts are level-appropriate; achieving 98% vocabulary coverage for learning from context; integrating other language skills; focusing on core reading skills; teaching conscious reading strategies (e.g., previewing, predicting, questioning); understanding text types; and encouraging extensive reading. The approach to teaching depends on the teacher's goals, such as reading for gist, specific information, detailed comprehension, developing speed, teaching strategies, or inferring meaning from context, and is structured around three lesson stages: pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading. Constructivist theory posits that new knowledge is built upon prior knowledge. Therefore, pre-reading activities are vital to activate students' schemata—their background knowledge and worldview—to aid in constructing meaning from the text. For Nikitin’s work, activities include brainstorming ideas related to the voyage, discussions based on quotes or opposing views, using pictures from the text for prediction, a wordlist game with key terms (e.g., *khozhdeniye* [voyage], *otplyv* [sailing away], *prepyatstviye* [obstacle]), predicting content from titles and illustrations, utilizing a KWL (Know/Want to know/Learned) chart, and analyzing word clouds containing relevant and irrelevant vocabulary. While-reading activities help students focus on text features and comprehension. These include skimming to check predictions and get the gist, scanning to find specific information like names or dates, answering literal and inferential comprehension questions, and responding to commands (e.g., define, circle, underline, describe, and explain). Yes/No questions are also used for easier verification of understanding. Post-reading activities facilitate the summarization, deeper understanding, and organization of acquired knowledge. These involve completing the ‘Learned’ column of the KWL chart, group discussions and reports, summarization techniques (e.g., “summary by deletion”), retelling the story, think-pair-share activities, translating text content into storyboards or drawings, conducting a search quest on the topic, creating videos (e.g., role-plays, reports, interviews), preparing presentations using found materials, vocabulary work focusing on new lexical units, and peer-checking where students prepare and answer questions on the text. In conclusion, for a productive RFL reading lesson focused on developing skills, the teacher must structure it around the three stages: pre-reading (to prepare students, set context, introduce unknown vocabulary, and spark interest), while-reading (the main task focused on comprehension questions), and post-reading (aimed at deeper understanding through critical analysis or personalization). The use of Afanasy Nikitin’s “Voyage across Three Seas” enables productive reading lessons through the application of these various activities, including brainstorming, KWL charts, and others.
STUDYING THE LANGUAGE OF “A JOURNEY BEYOND THE THREE SEAS” BY A. NIKITIN IN CLASSES IN THE DISCIPLINE “HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN LITERARY LANGUAGE”
The article is devoted to the study of the language of “Voyage beyond Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin in classes at a university in the discipline “History of the Russian Literary Language”. One of the written monuments of the Moscow period is analyzed - “Voyage beyond Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin. It is shown that using examples from the text you can learn more about both Russian history, reflected in the monument, and about India. Linguistic innovation has been revealed: the work of Afanasy Nikitin does not correspond to the norms of the book-Slavic type of language and is based primarily on the colloquial speech of the Great Russian people. This is manifested in the predominance of words with East Slavic phonetic features over Church Slavonicisms, the use of colloquial syntactic constructions, and the reflection of changes in gramm “Voyage beyond Three Seas” atical structure in the text. It is noted that, along with Old Russian colloquial and vernacular words, Afanasy Nikitin uses Turkic, Persian, and Arabic vocabulary acquired during the trip. It is characteristic that he resorts to foreign language vocabulary even when he expresses his innermost thoughts about the Russian land, about love for his homeland and condemns the injustice of Russian nobles. It is emphasized that the distinctive feature of the style of “Voyage beyond Three Seas” is its laconicism, accuracy and strict factuality. In addition, interactive forms, methods and technologies of teaching are considered, providing for joint creative activity of the teacher and students while studying the language of Afanasy Nikitin’s work “Voyage beyond Three Seas” in the classroom. Extended Abstract: This article positions Afanasy Nikitin’s “Voyage Beyond Three Seas” as a pivotal written monument of the Muscovite period, essential for study within the university discipline “History of the Russian Literary Language.” The work is presented not only as a historical document offering insights into 15th-century Russia and India but, more significantly, as a landmark of linguistic innovation that challenges the contemporary literary norms. The central thesis of the article is that Nikitin’s work represents a profound departure from the established bookish-Slavonic type of language that dominated the literary tradition. Instead, its foundation is the living, colloquial speech of the Great Russian people. This linguistic shift is systematically demonstrated through several key features: the clear predominance of words with East Slavic phonetic characteristics over Church Slavonicisms, the consistent use of colloquial syntactic constructions, and the reflection of ongoing changes in the grammatical structure of the spoken language. A defining and characteristic feature of the text is its unique lexicon. Alongside Old Russian colloquial and vernacular words, Nikitin extensively incorporates Turkic, Persian, and Arabic vocabulary acquired during his journey. Notably, the author emphasizes that Nikitin resorts to this foreign lexicon not merely to describe exotic realities but even when expressing his most intimate and heartfelt thoughts about the Russian land, his love for his homeland, and his criticism of the injustice of Russian nobles. This suggests a deep and functional integration of foreign borrowings into his personal narrative style. Stylistically, the article underscores that the “Voyage” is defined by its laconicism, accuracy, and strict factuality, setting it apart from the more ornate and ecclesiastical literary styles of the era. Pedagogically, Nikiforova advocates for the use of interactive forms, methods, and technologies in teaching this material. The approach is designed to foster joint creative activity between the teacher and students. The study of Nikitin’s language is thus not a passive exercise but an engaging process that involves analyzing textual examples to understand the dynamic interplay between native and foreign linguistic elements, ultimately illuminating the evolution of the Russian literary language during a formative period. In conclusion, the analysis of “Voyage Beyond Three Seas” is presented as crucial for understanding the democratization of the literary language and the formation of new democratic styles, specifically the "travel style," during the period of the Russian nationality. The text provides invaluable material for comprehending the complex linguistic situation of the Muscovite state in the 14th–17th centuries.
TULIP COLOUR IN THE COLOUR CONCEPTOSPHERE OF THE FLORAL SPACE OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE: RED OR BLACK?
The article presents the results of a polydiscursive research (the material is lexicographic sources, data of associative experiment, K. Paustovsky’s prose, data of the Russian National Corpus, advertising texts), devoted to the reconstruction of the segment of the colour conceptosphere of the floral space of the Russian language on the material of tulip colour descriptions. The composition of colour terms significant in plant visualization was established (32); a number of ways of conveying colour impression was revealed (20 colour composites; 10 colour sequences of different modification, etc.); colour dominants were established; the ways of expanding the colour range were described; the combinability of colour terms was revealed; the specificity of colouristic descriptions was revealed, which consists in conveying the intensity of colouring, in the contamination of colour and light components, in the evaluative nature of descriptions; the functional potential of plant descriptions based on the colour component was described, which is implemented in the ontological, nomenclature-classifying, expressive-expressive, culturological function, in the function of colour chronotope creating: colour spatial dimension (in the creation of colour space of nature, man, city, country, creativity, dream, etc.) and colour temporal dimension (temporal coordinate “Time of the year”, “Time of day”), in the prototypical function. Extended Abstract The cultural and axiological potential of the fund of phytonymic lexicon, along with the stable connection between plants and color noted by V.G. Kul'pina, underpins our scientific interest in reconstructing a segment of the color conceptosphere within the floristic space of the Russian language. This research, which aims to describe the specifics of the coloristic representation of the tulip based on material from various discourses (lexicographic sources, data from a directed associative experiment, works by K.G. Paustovsky, data from the National Corpus of the Russian Language, and advertising texts), continues a theme we are developing in the field of florosemantics of color. The cultural potential of the chosen coloristic descriptions is undeniable. For instance, O.Yu. Elina, studying plant iconography in Russia, references the icon "The Enclosed Vertograd" by Nikita Pavlovets (c. 1670), which depicts a garden of tulips, noting that the depiction shows tulips were already introduced and cultivated in Russia by the 17th century, with the icon showing color diversity—yellow and red tulips—potentially from observation or due to the artist's palette. K.I. Sharafadina notes the tulip became a poetic metonymy for Eastern culture in late 18th-century Europe. M. Yakhayapur, in a comparative analysis, highlights the tulip's symbolism in Iranian culture as representing the blood of martyrs. V.G. Kul'pina, discussing color ethno-priorities and stereotypes, cites a poem where tulips color the steppe scarlet, a beloved color in Russia. The main body of the research analyzes the color of the tulip across different discourses. Lexicographic definitions primarily emphasize 'bright coloration' and beauty, with the Great Soviet Encyclopedia being a key source listing specific colors (white, yellow, red, orange, variegated, purple, black). A directed associative experiment with 611 respondents revealed a spectrum of 35 color associations, with red (182 reactions) and yellow (173 reactions) as the dominant responses, followed by white, pink, and purple. The corpus of K.G. Paustovsky's works primarily features descriptions based on the color term black, often in a classificatory function. Analysis of the NCRL's main corpus (over 210 contexts) identified 30 significant color terms for describing tulips. The dominant term here is black (45 instances), followed by red (37) and yellow (30). The spectrum is broad, including composite terms and verbs denoting color manifestation. These descriptions often carry expressive, evaluative, and sometimes gendered connotations. The Poetic Subcorpus of the NCRL shows a different dominant: scarlet, with a smaller spectrum of 11 color terms and no recorded composites. The functional potential of these color descriptions is vast, realized in ontological, classificatory-nomenclatural, expressive, and culturological functions. They are crucial for creating a color chronotope, encompassing both spatial dimension (describing natural landscapes, the human body, clothing, social spheres, urban spaces, art, war, symbolic spaces, and dreams) and temporal dimension (associating tulips with seasons and times of day). The prototypical function involves the use of the terms "tulip" and "red tulip" as color names, though their usage in advertising discourse is currently limited and inconsistent compared to other phytonym-based color terms. In conclusion, the study identifies a quantitative and qualitative composition of 32 color terms significant in describing the tulip. The dominant colors vary by discourse: red (associative experiment), black (Paustovsky, NCRL main corpus), and scarlet (NCRL poetic corpus). It describes methods of conveying color impression through composites and sequences, an expanded spectrum via meta-lexemes and words denoting intensity/bloom, and specific combinability patterns. The creation and function of these descriptions are characterized by intensity, light-color contamination, evaluative nature, and potential gender correlation. Their functional potential is realized across multiple functions. The results contribute to a comprehensive description of a segment of the color conceptosphere within the Russian language's floristic space and have practical significance for specialists in information, communication, branding, and advertising.
THE SEMANTIC FIELD OF EXPRESSIVES DENOTING SAD EMOTIONAL STATES
This article examines the lexical-semantic field of Russian expressive words denoting sad and negative emotional states: “грусть”, “печаль”, “тоска”, “уныние”, “горе”, “скорбь”, “скука”, and others. The research materials and analysis of these concepts are based on statistical data from the Russian National Corpus. The aim of this study is to identify and characterize the semantic differences, degrees of intensity, grammatical and stylistic features of these lexemes, as well as their associative and cultural connotations. Special attention is given to the roles of “грусть” and “печаль” as the semantic core of this field, as well as their interactions with deeper states (such as “горе”) and more superficial states (such as “скука”). These concepts are analyzed with regard to their linguistic features and their role in expressing negative emotional states. Within the framework of this research, these concepts were extracted from the Russian National Corpus in combination with anthropomorphic components such as “глаз”, “сердце” (literal meaning), “взгляд”, as well as “душа” and “жизнь” (figurative meaning). Extended Abstract: This article examines the lexical-semantic field of Russian expressives denoting sad and negative emotional states: "grust" (sadness), "pechal" (sorrow), "toska" (melancholy/yearning), "unynie" (despondency), "gore" (grief), "skorb" (mourning), "skuka" (boredom) and others. The research materials and analysis of these concepts are based on statistical data from the National Corpus of the Russian Language (NCRL). The aim is to identify and characterize the semantic differences, degree of intensity, grammatical and stylistic features of these lexemes, as well as their associative and cultural connotations. Particular attention is paid to the positions of "grust" and "pechal" as the semantic core of the field, and their interaction with deeper (e.g., "gore") and more superficial (e.g., "skuka") states. The relevance of the study is determined by the need for a detailed examination of the ways language conceptualizes negative emotional states and identifies subtle semantic differences between closely related words. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive approach to studying the semantic field of sad emotions and identifying nuances of semantic content for each lexeme. The main part provides a semantic analysis of each key lexeme: - Grust (sadness): A soft, light negative experience associated with reflection, nostalgia, and inner peace, less intense and socially acceptable. - Pechal (sorrow): A deep and heavy emotional experience arising from loss or disappointment, intermediate in intensity between grust and toska, characterized by passivity and a search for consolation. - Toska (melancholy/yearning): A complex, polysemous emotional state ranging from light sadness to deep spiritual suffering and inner emptiness. - Skuka (boredom): A state of mental languor and despondency due to inactivity or lack of interest. - Skorb (mourning): A socially formalized emotion associated with public and ritually sanctioned expressions of loss, used in high-style speech practices. - Unynie (despondency): A gloomy, depressed state of spirit encompassing both emotional and spiritual-moral aspects, often interpreted as a sin in Christian tradition. - Gore (grief): The most intense form of emotional suffering, directly related to experiencing loss (death, separation, destruction of life's foundations). The analysis reveals significant grammatical differences between these concepts. For instance, "grust" is rarely used in the plural, perceiving it as a holistic state, while "pechal" can be pluralized ("dolgie pechali" - long sorrows). The noun "skuka" is unique in its syntactic behavior, typically governing with the preposition "po" and the dative case (e.g., "skuka po domu" - homesickness). A notable feature is the use of tautological combinations in folk and artistic discourse, such as "grust-toska" (sadness-melancholy) or "toska-pechal" (melancholy-sorrow), which serve to emotionally intensify and explicate a high level of mental distress. The study also explores the associative field of these concepts and their connection with color symbolism in Russian culture (e.g., dark - sad, gray - dreary, black - mournful). A significant part of the research is dedicated to analyzing stable nominal phrases that localize sad emotions in body parts or anthropomorphic concepts (e.g., "grust na dushe" - sadness in the soul, "toska na serdtse" - melancholy on the heart, "pechal v glazakh" - sorrow in the eyes). These expressions, common in classical and modern literature as well as everyday speech, are structured according to the model "emotion + preposition + body/spirit." They function as stable collocations or quasi-idioms, characterized by high expressiveness, symbolic meaning, and an important pragmatic role in conveying emotional experience. The most frequent and expressive combinations involve the lexemes "serdtse" (heart), "dusha" (soul), and "glaza" (eyes). Corpus analysis shows the highest frequency for constructions localizing emotions in the heart and soul. Three groups are identified: metaphorical expressions ("bol v serdtse" - pain in the heart), phraseological idioms ("s kamnem na serdtse" - with a stone on the heart), and grammatically transparent stable combinations ("toska na serdtse"). Stylistically, most such combinations are characteristic of literary and poetic language. Their function is not only to communicate emotional state but also to form a symbolic picture of experiences reflecting national-cultural specificity. In conclusion, the analysis demonstrates that bodily and spiritual metaphor is a primary way of conceptualizing the inner world in Russian. Stable nominal structures perform an important communicative and pragmatic function, contributing to artistic expressiveness and supporting the unique emotional style of Russian-language discourse.
CALENDAR SYSTEMS ON “VOYAGE BEYOND THREE SEAS”
The article discusses the calendar systems used by Afanasy Nikitin in his work “Voyage beyond Three Seas”. At the beginning of his journey, Afanasy rarely resorts to calendar dates, but as he moves away from the Russian land, he begins to report on Christian holidays, linking them with the events of his journey. In the fourth year of his journey, Athanasy loses his calendar entries and cannot determine the month and even the day of the week according to the Christian calendar. He begins to recall the correspondence of Christian and Muslim holidays, which is reflected in his narrative. Memories of the proximity of Easter to Eid al-Fitr and St. Peter's Day to Eid al-Adha allow him to determine the time of the Christian Easter rather approximately. This information from Athanasy allowed us to accurately calculate the year when he began his journey (1467), and when he completed it (the end of 1472), and it was not considered earlier than 1468-1474. Athanasy, as can be seen from his notes, clearly feels a certain uncertainty in his calculations, which leads him to celebrate Easter together with Muslims, who celebrate Eid al-Adha at this point of the year. Until Trebizond, which he entered on October 1, 1472, Afanasy Nikitin could not accurately determine the time of Christian holidays. Despite this, he continues to correlate certain Christian and Muslim holidays. Athanasy Nikitin's use of two calendar systems is, of course, due to the loss of his records, which forced him to switch to a relative chronology of his journey, based on the possibilities available to him. Good memory and observation allowed Afanasy Nikitin to get out of a difficult situation and continue celebrating Easter in a situation where its exact date could not be calculated. As a result, for three years (from the beginning of 1470 to the end of 1472), Afanasy Nikitin could not accurately find out the exact dates of Christian holidays. Extended Abstract: This article examines the calendar systems used by Afanasy Nikitin in his work "Voyage Across Three Seas" (Khozheniye za tri morya). At the beginning of his journey, Afanasy rarely resorts to calendar dates. However, as he moves farther from Russian lands, he begins to report on Christian holidays, linking them to events of his travels. In the fourth year of his journey, Afanasy loses his calendar notes and can no longer determine the month or even the day of the week according to the Christian calendar. He begins to recall the correspondence between Christian and Muslim holidays, which is reflected in his narrative. Memories of Easter's proximity to Eid al-Fitr (Uraza-Bayram) and St. Peter's Day's proximity to Eid al-Adha (Kurban-Bayram) allow him to approximate the timing of Christian Easter quite roughly. This information from Afanasy has allowed the authors to precisely calculate the year he began his journey (1467) and concluded it (late 1472), contrary to the previously accepted dates of 1468–1474. As is evident from his records, Afanasy clearly feels a certain uncertainty in his calculations, which leads him to celebrate Easter alongside Muslims, who are observing Eid al-Fitr at that time of year. Until his arrival in Trebizond on October 1, 1472, Afanasy Nikitin cannot accurately determine the timing of Christian holidays. Despite this, he continues to correlate various Christian and Muslim holidays. Afanasy Nikitin's use of two calendar systems is undoubtedly linked to the loss of his notes, which forced him to switch to a relative chronology of his journey based on the resources available to him. A good memory and powers of observation allowed Afanasy Nikitin to extricate himself from a difficult situation and continue to observe Easter when its exact date could not be calculated. Ultimately, for three years (from early 1470 to late 1472), Afanasy Nikitin could not accurately ascertain the exact dates of Christian holidays. A meticulous analysis of the text reveals that the terms "ulu bagryam" and "besermensky" refer to the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr (Uraza-Bayram), which occurs approximately 70 days before Eid al-Adha (Kurban-Bayram), and not solely to the latter as previously thought. This clarification is crucial for understanding his chronological references. The information provided by Afanasy Nikitin regarding the correspondence of Eid al-Fitr with Easter and Eid al-Adha with St. Peter's Day allows for the precise determination of the years of the merchant's travels. The pairwise proximity of these Christian and Muslim holidays in 1468 and 1469, despite minor inaccuracies in Afanasy's memory, indicates he began his journey in 1467. Only upon reaching Trebizond was he able to return to using the Christian calendar, shortly before his records end, with his arrival in Caffa noted precisely for November 6, 1472.
ON THE ISSUE OF SELECTING CULTURE- SPECIFIC LANGUAGE UNITS FOR TEACHING RUSSIAN LANGUAGE IN IRAN
Language, being an integral element of culture, emphasizes the most unique in it. In order for Iranian students to fully master socio-cultural competence, it is necessary to acquaint them with the peculiarities of language use within the framework of a new culture. The purpose of this article was to develop and substantiate the procedure for selecting vocabulary with a national-cultural component, which should be introduced to Iranian students in a Russian language lesson at the middle stage of education. The leading research method was an open associative experiment, in which 49 native Persian speakers took part. Iranian associations were compared with associations from the Russian Regional Associative Dictionary, and the number of matching associations was counted for each stimulus. Based on the obtained results, conclusions were made about the need for linguacultural commentary when studying these words at the middle stage of education. Among the culturally specific units we selected, 17% of the stimuli revealed a significant similarity in the associative reactions of Russian and Iranian respondents. They caused 65-80% identical associations, demonstrating the similarity of the national-cultural semantics of these words. Another 7 stimuli (24%) caused 40-65% overlapping reactions, 12 stimuli (41%) caused 20-40% similar reactions, 5 words (17%) activated little or no similar associations in native speakers of Russian and Persian. In our opinion, the comparison of associative fields can be recommended as an effective method for selecting culturally specific vocabulary when teaching Russian according to the first certification level program. Extended Abstract: Language, as an integral element of culture, highlights its most unique aspects. For Iranian students to fully acquire sociocultural competence, it is necessary to introduce them to the features of language use within a new cultural context. The aim of this article was to develop and justify a procedure for selecting vocabulary with a national-cultural component that should be introduced to Iranian students in Russian language lessons at the intermediate stage of learning. The leading research method was an open associative experiment, in which 49 native Persian speakers participated. Iranian associations were compared with associations from the Russian Regional Associative Dictionary (RRAD), and the number of matching associations was calculated for each stimulus. Based on the results, conclusions were drawn about the necessity of providing linguocultural commentary when studying these words at the intermediate level. Among the selected culturally specific units, 17% of the stimuli showed significant similarity in the associative reactions of Russian and Iranian respondents. They elicited 65-80% identical associations, demonstrating the similarity in the national-cultural semantics of these words. Another 7 stimuli (24%) elicited 40-65% overlapping reactions, 12 stimuli (41%) elicited 20-40% similar reactions, and 5 words (17%) activated few or no similar associations among native Russian and Persian speakers. The study concludes that comparing associative fields can be recommended as an effective method for selecting culturally specific vocabulary when teaching Russian at the first certification level (B1). The associative experiment proved to be an objective tool for this selection, as it assesses the current state of the language and is independent of the teacher's viewpoint, background knowledge, or personal preferences. The results of the research are being used to create linguocultural commentaries for Iranian students learning Russian. Work is currently underway, under the guidance of the article's first author, to create a nationally oriented linguocultural dictionary for Iranian students at the B1 level. This approach addresses the challenge of integrating sociocultural competence, which, while a theoretical goal of instruction, often lacks corresponding teaching resources and prepared instructors for its practical implementation.
THE PROBLEMS OF MASTERING THE GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF VERB ASPECT IN THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AMONG IRANIAN AUDIENCES: LINGUISTIC AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS
This article examines the challenges faced by Iranian students in mastering the grammatical category of verb aspect in the Russian language, with particular emphasis on a comparative analysis with Persian. The category of verb aspect, divided into perfective and imperfective forms, constitutes a fundamental element of linguistic analysis, as it determines the temporal characteristics and moods of verbs, which are critical for understanding Russian grammatical systems. The absence of a comparable category in Persian creates significant difficulties for Iranian learners when selecting the correct verb form. Linguistic analysis reveals that students encounter problems in using verb aspects primarily due to a lack of awareness of aspectual meanings, which leads to frequent errors in application. Furthermore, the complex aspect-tense forms of Russian exacerbate the learning process. From a methodological standpoint, the deficiency of effective teaching methods that account for the specific features of the Russian language also contributes to errors in speech production. This study employs a descriptive-analytical approach, enabling a deeper understanding of the issues related to teaching verb aspect to Iranian students. Many existing instructional methodologies fail to consider the linguistic background of Iranian learners, potentially resulting in ineffective teaching outcomes. To enhance the teaching of verb aspect in Russian, it is recommended to implement diverse pedagogical strategies and utilize authentic materials. Such an approach will facilitate students’ better comprehension and application of this grammatical category. The article underscores the necessity of a comprehensive approach to teaching verb aspect to improve students’ proficiency and achieve a more profound understanding of the language. Extended Abstract: The grammatical category of verb aspect in Russian, encompassing the binary distinction between perfective and imperfective forms, represents a cornerstone of the language’s syntactic and semantic framework, encoding the temporal contour and completion status of actions. This study examines the multifaceted challenges confronted by Iranian students in mastering this category, foregrounding both linguistic disparities and methodological shortcomings. For Persian-speaking learners, the absence of a direct equivalent to Russian aspectual morphology poses a formidable barrier, as Persian employs temporal conjugations, auxiliary constructions, and lexical semantics rather than a formalized aspectual system. This structural divergence engenders persistent difficulties in comprehending and applying Russian aspect, manifesting in errors related to aspectual selection, tense-aspect interplay, and context-sensitive verb usage, particularly with motion verbs exhibiting intricate directional and iterative nuances. From a linguistic perspective, Russian verbs are obligatorily marked for aspect through prefixes, suffixes, or stem alternations, with perfective forms denoting bounded, completed actions and imperfective forms signaling ongoing, habitual, or iterative processes. In contrast, Persian conveys analogous distinctions indirectly, relying on periphrastic constructions and adverbial modifiers, which lack the systematicity of Russian aspectual paradigms. This asymmetry complicates Iranian learners’ ability to internalize aspectual semantics and navigate the subtleties of Russian verbal morphology, often resulting in overgeneralization or misapplication of forms in communicative contexts. Methodologically, the study critiques prevailing pedagogical approaches, which frequently fail to account for the typological differences between the learners’ native language and the target language. Traditional instruction, often rooted in rote memorization and decontextualized grammar drills, proves inadequate for addressing the cognitive and practical challenges faced by Iranian students. The scarcity of authentic materials, coupled with a lack of interactive, learner-centered techniques, perpetuates suboptimal proficiency levels and hinders the development of aspectual competence. To redress these deficiencies, this research advocates a reconceptualized teaching paradigm that integrates context-rich resources—such as literary texts, audiovisual media, and real-life discourse samples—with communicative exercises and interactive methodologies tailored to Persian-speaking learners. The investigation adopts a descriptive-analytical framework, supplemented by an empirical component involving 100 Iranian students spanning proficiency levels A1 to C1. Data were collected via diagnostic assessments, self-reported questionnaires, and statistical analysis of error patterns, with a focus on the efficacy of proposed pedagogical interventions. Findings reveal that learner’s exhibit pronounced difficulties in distinguishing aspectual pairs and interpreting contextual cues, yet demonstrate marked improvement—evidenced by a 25% increase in accurate aspect usage—following the adoption of dynamic, context-based strategies. These results underscore the critical need for adaptive instructional models that bridge linguistic divides and foster deeper engagement with Russian verbal systems. This study advances the scholarship on Russian as a foreign language by elucidating the interplay of linguistic and pedagogical factors in second-language acquisition. Its recommendations—emphasizing the incorporation of authentic materials and diversified teaching methods—offer a scalable framework for enhancing Iranian learners’ mastery of verb aspect, with broader implications for cross-linguistic pedagogy and intercultural communicative competence.
PROBLEMS OF RUSSIAN WORD FORMATION IN RUSSIAN LANGUAGE CLASSES IN NON-RUSSIAN AUDIENCES
We reflect the similarities of objects and phenomena of life around us in language, in the similarity of words in their sound appearance and meaning. Words, like language in general, evolve. The development of words is manifested in a change in the meaning of the word and in a change in the division of the word into parts. The designation of certain newly emerging concepts about individual particular phenomena in objective reality in language is subsumed under certain, already existing samples-models; Thus, specific phenomena are constantly elevated to the level of structural and grammatical generalizations. In the course of improving the system of word formation in a language, a whole system of word-formation elements is developed, with the help of which the concept contained in the generating bases receives a different light. Thus, the suffixes -щик (-чик), -ец, -ист connecting with the basics of certain semantics, give the latter the meaning of a masculine person (угольщик, переводчик, борец), the suffixes -ние (-нье), -тие (-тье) and others give the productive bases the meaning of abstract action (усвоение, плаванье, открытие и др.). In combination with any base, any word-forming suffix modifies its lexical grammatical meaning, as a result of which a new word is born, which, while maintaining a semantic connection with its base, adjoins the grammatical category that is characteristic of a particular lexical-grammatical category of words. The formation of new words according to one or another word-formation type is subject to the laws of combination of morphemes, determined by the grammatical structure of the Russian language. The study of ways of forming new words and determining the productivity of individual morphological types in the Russian literary language is of significant interest, since this will allow us to establish the presence of some trends in the field of modern Russian word formation, and will also provide the necessary material for a higher school teacher when studying the development of Russian vocabulary. The vocabulary of the Russian language has been replenished and enriched with a significant number of new formations, some of which were only relatively new; they may have been encountered for a long time in special areas of the language and only then came into general use. The Russian language of each period reflects the nature of the social life of the era, the spirit of the times and history. New words arise according to certain patterns - models that are most appropriate to consider in the circle of parts of speech. Extended Abstract The article addresses the challenges of teaching Russian word formation to non-native speakers, emphasizing its critical role in developing language competence. The similarity of objects and phenomena in our environment is reflected in language through the similarity of words in their sound form and meaning. Words, like language as a whole, evolve. This evolution manifests in changes to a word's meaning and its morphological division. Newly emerging concepts for specific phenomena in objective reality are subsumed under existing language patterns and models, thereby constantly elevating concrete phenomena to the level of structural and grammatical generalizations. The Russian language has developed a system of word-forming elements (e.g., suffixes like -щик/-чик, -ец, -ист for masculine agent nouns; -ние/-нье, -тие/-тье for abstract action nouns) that modify the lexical-grammatical meaning of a base, resulting in a new word that retains a semantic connection to its root while joining a specific grammatical category. The formation of new words follows patterns (models) governed by the laws of morpheme combination, which are determined by the grammatical structure of Russian. The study of how new words are formed and the determination of the productivity of specific morphological types in the modern Russian literary language is of significant interest. It helps identify trends in contemporary Russian word formation and provides essential material for university instructors teaching the development of Russian vocabulary. The lexicon of the Russian language is continuously enriched with neologisms, some of which may have existed in specialized domains before entering common usage, each period's language reflecting the character of its social life and history. The main difficulties for students in non-Russian audiences include: Interference from their native language, leading to errors when applying L1 word-formation patterns to Russian. Difficulty perceiving the meaning of prefixes and suffixes (e.g., -ость, -ение, -тель), hindering comprehension of derived words. The irregularity of word-formation models, where students expect full regularity but encounter historical exceptions (e.g., писатель vs. читатель). A lack of visualization and systematization in teaching, which complicates the memorization and analysis of word-formation patterns. The article argues for the necessity of introducing elements of etymological analysis and the concept of a root—the common, indivisible part of related words carrying the most general meaning. Understanding the distinction between a root (general meaning) and a base (specific meaning of a particular word form) is crucial for practical literacy, especially spelling words with unstressed vowels. To overcome these challenges, the article proposes several methodological recommendations: * Introducing visual tables of word-formation models. * Utilizing associative and game-based methods (e.g., morpheme puzzles). * Conducting comparative analysis with the students' native language. * Incorporating word-modeling exercises. * Working with word-formation nests (e.g., письмо – писать – писатель – писательский). In conclusion, the problems of teaching word formation in a non-Russian audience are due to both the objective complexity of Russian structure and methodological gaps in instruction. A comprehensive approach based on systematizing material, using visual aids, and individualizing instruction is essential for success. Implementing innovative methods and strengthening the focus on word formation in teaching Russian as a foreign language will enhance students' language competence and autonomy.
ON THE QUESTION ABOUT THE SPELLING OF COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
One of the word-formation methods that are actively operating in the modern Russian language is word composition. The use of this method is especially widespread in the category of adjectives. Comparison of the Usability of Certain Types of Composition in the Literary Language of the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries. leads to the conclusion that the most productive types of composition of the modern Russian language were fixed from the beginning and throughout the 19th century, i.e. during the formation of the modern Russian literary language. The most characteristic of the modern Russian language of the last period is the very widespread use of the connecting method of word formation. This type of composition was also known in earlier periods of the development of the Russian language, but only during the 19th century. became widespread, which was fixed and received its further development in the literary language of the last period. Two types of subordinating word composition are also very widespread at the present time, which were productive in earlier periods of the development of the Russian literary language. But the use of these types of compounding in modern language also differs sharply from their use in earlier periods. Extended Abstract There are many ways to form words. Most often, there are complex words formed by adding two or more roots, the most difficult words to write and pronounce: words - meanings of quantities, words - names of chemical compounds. Also, the Russian dictionary is actively enriched with foreign language borrowed words, many of them have a complex root basis. The active inclusion of compound words in Russian vocabulary confirms the need to study the peculiarities of semantics and structure, as well as the methods of formation of compound words, which undoubtedly has theoretical and practical significance for modern linguistics. The process of forming complex words is in continuous development. One of the word-formation methods actively operating in the modern Russian language is compounding. Compounding is one of the ways of forming new words in the Russian language by combining two or more words, usually without spaces. It can perform different functions and have different forms. The use of this method is especially widespread in the category of adjectives. Comparison of the usage of certain types of word composition in the literary language of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. leads to the conclusion that the most productive types of composition of the modern Russian language have been fixed since the beginning and throughout the 19th century, i.e. during the formation of the modern Russian literary language. The most characteristic feature of the modern Russian language of the last period is the very widespread use of the connective method of compounding. This type of composition was known in earlier periods of the development of the Russian language, but only during the 19th century. became widespread, which was consolidated and further developed in the literary language of the last period. Two types of subordinating verb formation, which were also productive in earlier periods of the development of the Russian literary language, are also very widespread at present. But the use of these types of composition in modern language also differs sharply from their use in earlier periods.