SIGN WORDS AND THEIR DESCRIPTION IN THE EXPLANATORY DICTIONARY


2024. № 3 (41), 204-212

Vinogradov Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Abstract:

The article examines the problem of lexicographic description of such words, which contain in their meanings two types of information: (1) linguistic information proper, i. e. an indication of the semantics, grammatical affi liation of the word, features of its behavior as part of a statement, semantic and other connections of this word with similar or opposite ones in meaning, such as synonyms, antonyms, and words related to the given ones by converse and analogue relations, etc.; (2) information that is determined by certain behavioral characteristics of a person such as, for instance, facial expressions and gestures, and which is or should be refl ected in some way in the dictionary description of the words in question.
As shown in the article, in the Russian language such non-linguistic information is characteristic primarily of particles and interjections. This is explained by the fact that particles and interjections are closely related to the nature of human behavior in various communicative situations. In live, spontaneous communication between people such “trifles” are important that express various emotions of a person, forms of her / his relations with other people with relatives, friends, work colleagues or joint hobbies, etc. The less formal these relationships are, the freer one feels, the less one controls one’s speech in terms of its compliance with more or less generally accepted norms and requirements, the greater the role in her / his speech is played by elements of non-verbal communication — gestures, facial expressions, body movements.
The article provides examples of lexicographic representation in modern explanatory dictionaries of such words, which combine linguistic and non-linguistic information in their meanings.