CENTAUR WORDS IN MODERN LITERARY SPEECH

The article examines the functioning of centaur words (words with a Russian and a borrowed component) in modern prose and verse texts. It is noted that interlingual interaction in Russian literary speech has increased, which manifests itself in the integration of word stems belonging to diff erent languages within one lexical unit. The functions of centaur words are distinguished (nominative, characterological, playful, expressive, the function of creating a complex image). In some functions, the meaning of centaur words is relevant (for instance, they denote new or nonexistent realities), while in other functions, their formal properties are important. Special attention is given to occasional centaur words which are contaminated formations and are characterized by the apposition of stems. Some authors use complex sequences of centaur words, which interact with each other and with their context — the reader can understand them only if (s)he pays attention to cultural context and language games. A conclusion is made about the deepening of the process of word-formation adaptation in modern Russian speech.