FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING ON THE DICTIONARY OF RUSSIAN COLLOQUIAL SPEECH

The Dictionary of Russian Colloquial Speech is based on a comprehensive approach to the selection and description of vocabulary and phraseology. The diversity and motley nature of its lexicon, determined by the nature of everyday communication, do not preclude a certain unity. A consistent criterion for combining vocabulary and phraseology of various functional and social types is the characteristic of colloquialism, which manifests in its three main components: lowered stylistic level (minimal, moderate, coarse, extreme), expressiveness (emotionality, imagery, evaluative connotation), and diffuseness (instability and variability of words and meanings). The most important task in creating a dictionary of colloquial speech is to establish its boundaries: the “upper” boundary — everything below the literary norm, beginning with genuinely colloquial vocabulary and phraseology, and the “lower” boundary, or bottom limit, beyond which are units known and understood only by insiders and described in specialized dictionaries of regional dialects and socio-professional jargons. A serious challenge in compiling the Dictionary of Colloquial Speech is the natural lag of the lexicon behind the actual linguistic reality. This issue may be addressed through the periodic publication of issues featuring relevant colloquial neologisms — words, meanings, fixed expressions — or through a specialized electronic edition of the Dictionary that allows for constant updates and clarifications generated by living Russian speech.