AGEISM IN RUSSIAN FOLKLORE (THE TOPIC OF “THE OLD AGE” IN JOKES)

Ageism is a kind of social discrimination based on a negative attitude towards age (mainly predilection). Each culture is characterized by its own view of elderlies. Russianfolklore (fairy tales, proverbs, idioms and stable similes, etc.) refl ects an ambivalent attitude to the topic of old age. Such features as the loss of physical and mental energy, the weakening of memory, the increasing resentment and mistrust, etc., are subject to the critical assessment. In the era of universal computer literacy and artifi cial intelligence, the experience of the older generation no longer has the same value as before; all information can be found in the internet. Anecdotes (jokes) as a genre of urban folklore presented in colloquial speech (and, more recently, in electronic databases) refl ect the entire range of dismissive or mocking attitudes towards the elderly. However, there are also texts in which the old age is accompanied by a sympathetic or considerate connotation (namely, the association of the old age with experience and wisdom is noted). The article groups jokes by topic and allows for a more complete image of the old age in Russian everyday speech. The lexicon used to designate elderly people is also analyzed.