Functions and semantics of foreign language beauty vocabulary in the modern Russian language

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Introduction

Language as an integral part of human society evolves with the society. Its development is defined both by historically significant transformations of macroeconomic models, socio-political foundations or cultural parameters, and by special changes within the framework of separate spheres of human activity. The consequences of these modifications can hardly be overestimated: neologisms appear, the number of borrowings increases, some words become obsolete, leaving active use and adding to the list of archaic forms. Undoubtedly, each language goes its own unique way, but due to various reasons, at a certain stage of development we can note the convergence of language systems (or, using the terminology of I.A. Baudouin de Courtenay, their “mixing”), which is characterized by a greater or lesser influence of one language system on another (Ageyeva et al., 2015; Ageeva et al., 2022; Gabdreeva et al., 2019; Marinova, 2019; Yakhina, 2021).

The relevance of our work is thus related to the ongoing active development of the Russian language, caused both by extra-linguistic factors (the increasing complexity of terminological systems on the one hand, and their standardization on the other, and the expansion of terminological lexicon intentions) and by linguistic reasons proper: the penetration into the Russian language of foreign-language names of certain products, the expanded variation in the graphics, phonetics and morphology of foreign words, the productive models of reception of foreign-language terms and the formation of the original ones. We should not forget about recent public discussion, when many representatives of various professions came forward with the initiative to purify the Russian language from foreign-language words (it should be noted that such proposals are far from new, as researchers have repeatedly written about (Krysin, 2021).

The scientific novelty of our work can be considered both from the perspective of the specific material: the terminology of the beauty industry as a very dynamically developing lexical stratum is undoubtedly of significant research interest in Russian and foreign linguistics (Abdrakhmanova et al., 2019; Andrianova et al., 2019; Mangiante, 2002), and from the perspective of improving the methods of linguistic research. Back in the 1970s, V.M. Illich-Svitych wrote that the potential of internal reconstruction methods in studying linguistic changes is very limited, and noted the need to involve external reconstruction methods (Illich-Svitych, 1971). It seems that this statement is true not only for reconstructing pro-forms of long-dead languages, but also in studying actual changes in living languages.

The conceptual basis of our study includes the work of E.A. Birzhakova, L.A. Voinova, L.L. Kutina, where the integrated approach to studying foreign-language and borrowed vocabulary is traced in detail (Birzhakova et al., 1972). This methodology combines simultaneous analysis of the signifier and signified of a foreign language prototype and correlative borrowing in Russian, takes into account diachronic changes in both linguistic systems, and makes it possible to trace general linguistic processes through the prism of the evolution of specific lexical units. It has been extensively tested in studying various layers of foreign languages of different etymologies. The works of L.P. Krysin, E.V. Marinova, E. Sapir, E. Haugen should be mentioned separately, without the study of which no work in the field of modern linguocontactology is unthinkable (Krysin, 2019, 2021; Marinova, 2019; Sapir, 2002; Haugen, 1972).

The lexicon of the beauty sphere includes several large semantic fields: “cosmetics and cosmetic products”, “manicure and pedicure”, “hairdressing”, “cosmetology”, “plastic surgery”. Some of these fields have a rather long history, others appeared relatively recently, and some are at the initial stages of their evolution. This factor almost always determines the etymology of lexical units, their grammar, derivational potential and its realization, the type and nature of semantic evolution. Due to the limited scope of the work, we cannot present a complete picture of the whole beauty lexicon functioning and development within the framework of this study, that is why we focus on one semantic field ‒ “Cosmetics and cosmetic products”. This field is a rather large and complex structural lexical-semantic stratum, characterized by a long history, which allows us to identify and describe in detail the peculiarities of their functioning. In the future, by comparing the results of this study with the data of other semantic fields, we will be able to reliably present the general picture and current trends of linguistic changes within the entire beauty lexicon.

Thus, the main aim of the work is to identify and systematically describe the functional-semantic parameters of non-iconic lexical units representing the semantic field “Cosmetics and cosmetic products” in Russian against the background of their foreign-language prototypes.

Methods and materials

To solve the research tasks, we first of all turned to general theoretical methods: the comparative method, which allowed us to establish the nature and degree of mutual influence of language systems; the method of component analysis to study the semantics of lexical units; the method of modeling language processes in order to reconstruct and describe the main vectors of linguistic development. Such research techniques as sampling, description and formalization, quantitative data processing were also used in the work.

The research material is represented by the data of a continuous sampling from advertising articles and reviews in the magazines “Cosmopolitan” (now ‒ “Voice”)¹, “Kommersant” (section “Style”)², TOPBEAUTY³, “Glamour”⁴, “Marie Claire”⁵, etc., Internet forums “Sponzhik.ru”⁶, “Woman.ru”⁷ and others. In total, more than 100 lexical units were included in the field of this study, most of them represent the newest lexicon, which has not yet been recorded in dictionaries of foreign words. To establish the meanings of these units, the method of contextual analysis was used; the frequency in the Russian text was studied with the technologies of the Russian National Corpus⁸.

Results

The study of the functional and semantic status of the foreign-language lexicon of such a dynamically developing stratum as “Cosmetics and cosmetic products” allows us to trace the complexity and dynamics of language contacts. It should be mentioned here that this concept is epistemologically ambiguous. Accordingly, the works of different researchers provide different principles of description and classification of foreign language vocabulary.

Among the most significant vectors of development of foreign-language lexicon verbalizing the semantic field “Cosmetics and cosmetic products” we note some important points.

First, the structure of the semantic field is heterogeneous, as it identifies several lexical-semantic groups, distinguished by certain differential semes in the meaning structure (“decorative cosmetics”, “care”, “types of makeup”, “techniques”, “tools”). The etymological heterogeneity of the lexical composition of the semantic field shows both its long history and its active replenishment from different sources nowadays. Among the dominant source languages are French and English, and diachronically the lexicon of French origin predominates, while in synchronic terms Anglicisms are the leaders.

Secondly, graphical and word-formation doublets testifies to the instability of the lexicon form, characteristic of the initial stages of assimilation of foreign languages. Graphical variation is peculiar primarily to proper names and is most often conditioned extralinguistically (brand-policy of cosmetics producers). Derivational variation can be explained both by processes directly in the source language and by competition between systems in the course of contacts, its particular consequence being the widespread of hybrid vocabulary.

Thirdly, the productivity of composite formation, “inherited” from the source language and partially realized by the means of the receiving system, increases. Composite structures are characterized by word-formation nests with a common component. Besides, within the analyzed lexicon there are phraseological calques formed by word-for-word translation of lexicalized word combinations of the source language.

Fourth, developing under the influence of multidirectional vectors, beauty lexicon is characterized by a wide spread of synonymic relations between units, which may fully coincide in meaning or differ in its nuances. In the latter case,  the specificity of meaning may be fixed, which leads to the formation of logical-hierarchical paradigms.

Discussion

The concept of language contact was developed and introduced into scientific use by such prominent linguists as A. Martinet and U. Weinreich. The latter interpreted this concept rather broadly, referring to the consistent use of different languages in the speech of one person (Weinreich, 1972). In later works, mass communication, i.e., a kind of communication between language communities, comes to the fore (Rozentsveig, 1972). Thus, it is quite logical that the modern theory of language contact includes the process of borrowing and foreign/ borrowed vocabulary as a result of this process (we wrote about the dual nature of the term itself in our previous works (Ageeva et al., 2022)).

There are several approaches to the classification of foreign languages:

1) according to the sphere of use. Thus, we can talk about borrowings in the field of economics or politics, as well as units belonging to a wide variety of professional sublanguages (Ageeva et al., 2022; Matskevich, Shchitova, 2021; Trofimova, Shchitova, 2021);

2) by the nature of borrowing. Here we distinguish between material borrowing (phonetic, morphological, lexical) and calquing (word-formation, semantic, phraseological, syntactic) (Ageyeva et al., 2015; Marinova, 2019);

3) according to the degree of assimilation. With regard to the stages of assimilation and its laws, there are many points of view which are often polar (Gabdreeva et al., 2019; Krysin, 2021; Marinova, 2019). In our opinion, the following separate stages of assimilation should be distinguished

a) inclusions and barbarisms, whose foreignness is not disguised in any way;

b) exotic vocabulary naming concepts of alien reality;

c) a heterogeneous group of foreign units proper in the narrow sense of the word, naming phenomena of Russian reality and being at different stages of functional, formal or semantic assimilation (neologisms, terms, jargonisms, etc.);

d) borrowings proper, whose assimilation is fully completed (Ageeva et al., 2022).

Assimilation should be understood as a complex process of adaptation of a foreign-language unit to the receiving language, happening in a complex and multidirectional manner, including the adaptation of the word to the functional, formal (phonetic-graphic and morphological-syntactic) and semantic subsystems of the language.

Let us illustrate this by some functional characteristics of the lexicon with the integral seme “Cosmetics and cosmetic products” in the Russian language.

Among the most significant statistically differential semes are the following:

1) makeup: ailainer – English eyeliner, literally ‘a pencil for eyes’; antisern – French anti-cernes, literally ‘against black eyes’; baza – French base; blesk – calque, from English gloss; bronzer (bronzant) – English bronzer, French bronzant; glitter – English glitter; kayal – Old Indian, through English kajal ‘pencil’; konsiler – English concealer; kontur – French contour; korrektor – French correcteur; lainer – English liner; luminaizer (il(l)luminaizer) – from English luminize ‘to paint in a luminous colour’; palitra – French palette; pigment – French pigment; pomada – French pommade; praimer – English primer; pudra – French poudre; rumyana, stik – English stick; teni – from French ombre à paupières, literally ‘eyeshadow’; tint – English tint, from French teint; ton – French ton; tush’ – from French touche ‘touch’; hailaiter – English highlighter; shimmer – English shimmer;

2) care cosmetics: bal’zam – Latin, through German Balsam; butter – English butter; buster – English booster; voda – calque, from French eau, literally ‘water’; gel’ – French, German gel; gommazh – French gommage; dezodorant – French deodorant; krem – French crème; losyon – French lotion; maska – French masque; maslo – calque, from French huile, literally ‘oil (cooking)’; molochko – calque, from French lait, literally ‘milk’; muss – French mousse; pasta – Italian pasta; penka – calque, from French mousse, literally ‘foam’; piling – English peeling; skrab – English scrub; syvorotka – calque, from French serum, literally ‘serum’; shampun – French champoing; eksfoliant – French exfoliant;

3) makeup application technique: beiking – English baking; konturing (konturirovanie) – English contouring; strobing – English strobing; hailaiting – English highlighting;

4) makeup application tools: applikator – French applicateur; gubka – calque, from English sponge, French éponge; kist’, kushon – French coussin ‘cushion’, from English cushion; sponzh – English sponge;

5) types of makeup: antieidzh – English anti-age, literally ‘against ageing’; vodostoikiy makiyazh – calque, from English waterproof make up; nyud – English nude, literally ‘naked’; smoki aiz/smoki – English smoky eyes.

Etymologically, as we see above, the lexicon of this group is quite heterogeneous. First of all, we meet lexical borrowings from the French language (34%), both those that came into the Russian language long ago and took root in it (pomada ‘lipstick’, tush ‘mascara’, krem ‘cream’, pudra ‘powder’, shampun’ ‘shampoo’, etc.) and the newest ones (antisern ‘means against black eyes’, eksfoliant ‘exfoliant’, gommazh ‘gommage’, bronzant ‘bronzer’, losyon ‘lotion’). There is a significant group of lexical anglicisms (about 40%), most of them came into the Russian language at the modern stage of contacts (nyud ‘nude’, buster ‘booster’, beiking ‘baking’, hailaiter ‘highlighter’, glitter ‘glitter’, shimmer ‘shimmer’, tint ‘tint’). Borrowings from German and Italian are occasional (6 and 5% respectively), as well as quite exotic elements of Old Indian (kayal) or Turkic (karandash ‘pencil’) origin (a total of 2%). Original lexicon (13%) has relatively high rates, but we should note here that almost all the units of this group were only formally identified as indigenous, i.e. they are semantic calques of French (molochko ‘milk’, voda ‘water’, syvorotka ‘serum’) or, to a lesser extent, English (blesk ‘gloss’, vodostoikiy ‘waterproof’) words.

Proper names are variable in the graphics: brand names and unique names of cosmetic products are presented both in transliterated and original forms. As we repeatedly noted (Gabdreeva et al., 2019; Ageyeva, 2014), the graphic form of foreign inclusions is often conditioned by the type of discourse and the function of brand preservation: in advertisements or on official websites, original graphics almost always appear (about 96%): ELEMENT's oil and ECO CREM is a real recent find for me personally; Great budget eyeshadow base from Wet ‘n wild; The best foundation is “Colour Adapt” from Max Factor according to a poll!

In user comments, the language is informal, and the picture is quite different, with Cyrillic letters in names being much more common (reaching 60% for the most popular and easy to transcribe names):

I've been using Элемент (Element) for about six months now; I've been using monarda oil from Элемент (Element) for a long time now; I'm already running out of this second tube of moisturizing cream from вамиса (whamisa); Natural hand soap with avocado oil from Ботавикос (Botavikos); But I definitely liked Авеено (Aveeno) for its hypo allergenicity on my sensitive skin; I like Мейбелин (Maybelline) and Пупа (Pupa).

However, non-transliterated variants are relatively frequent here too: I love Korean cosmetics, I mostly have everything from whamisa now, they have completely organic skin care products; I finally bought myself probably the most long-awaited novelty from La Roche-Posay ‒ Hydrian BB cream; Excellent long-lasting automatic eyebrow pencil from Pupa.

A single statement can contain the contaminated graphics, for example, Sengara products can be found in the Фаберлик (Faberlic) catalogue, in any case, I took the oil there ‒ very cool, effective! or New Nude by Урбан Дикей (Urban Dicay). A reboot of the famous Naked. What has changed?

Variation is also represented at the morpheme level: bronzer ‒ bronzant, luminaizer ‒ il(l)luminaizer, contouring ‒ contourirovanie. The first case is a parallel borrowing from English and French, the second case is a borrowing of two forms from one language (English), where the literary form illuminizer is gradually replaced by the colloquial luminizer, the third case is a decomposition of a foreign-language unit into morphemes and combining the root with a suffix in the recipient language (so-called hybridization).

The latter is quite characteristic of the lexical stratum we are analysing, albeit within the framework of the substandard. Thus, the most frequent suffixes formalizing foreign (or even native) roots/bases are:

-k(on the model adjective + -k= feminine noun): tonalka, mitselyarka, umyvalka, gigienichka (I’m using the gel a lot, it is better as umyvalka (colloquial ‘face wash’), than as mitselyarka (colloquial for ‘micellar water’); these are excellent gigienichkas (colloquial for ‘hygiene lipstick’), they nourish well, moisturize and protect lips);

-nik (on the model adjective + -nik = masculine noun): tonal’nik, probnik (I use luxury tonal’nik (colloquial for ‘foundation’) and luxury powder (Lancome and Clarins). I trust them more);

-ik (on the model noun + -ik = masculine noun): kremik (I love Corean BB kremiks (diminutive from ‘cream’));

-ovsk/-yevsk (on the model noun + -ovsk/-yevsk = adjective): faberlikovskiy (adjective from Faberlic), lankomovskiy (adjective from Lancome), diorovskiy (adjective from Dior), uranbandekeevskiy (adjective from Urban Decay).

On the material of this group, we record in the Russian language the increasing productivity of composite formation in general and according to the Germanic model (noun + noun) in particular. Among composite foreign-language lexicon we find the following types:

‒ a fully borrowed unit: ailainer ‒ from the English eyeliner. The incomplete morphological de-etymologisation of the borrowed unit is indicated by two factors: the presence of the doublet lainer and the variants of the consistent/ hyphenated/separate spelling of this word in its non-transliterated form ailainer – ai-lainer – ai lainer. Composites with the prefix antiare frequent here: antieidzh ‒ from English anti-age, antisern ‒ from French anti-cernes, antistress ‒ from English anti-stress, anti-rid ‒ from French anti-rides;

‒ hybrid unit: antivozrastnoy (anti-aging), voda-praimer (water-primer), teni-shimmer (shadow-shimmer).

The main characteristic of composite formation in the modern Russian language is word-formation nests with a common component. As a rule, this component has a fixed position in a word, but there are cases when the same component stands in different positions. For example, beauty performs the function of a prefixoid in the following words: beauty-industry, beauty-specialist, beauty-procedure, beauty-effect. As a suffixoid, it appears in INDI-beauty, K-beauty, J-beauty. The word cream as an element of a composite has no fixed position: cream soap, cream gel, cream serum, but BB-cream, CC-cream, EE-cream.

A significant number of units naming makeup products function as part of stable word combinations formed with different models:

‒ both components are borrowed: kompaktnaya pudra (compact powder) ‒ from French poudre compacte; mineralnaya pudra (mineral powder) ‒ from French poudre minérale; transparantnaya pudra (transparent powder) ‒ from French poudre transparente; termalnaya voda (thermal water) ‒ from French eau thermale; mitselyarnaya voda (micellar water) ‒ from French eau micellaire;

‒ one of the components is original. This model is a variant of direct borrowing, for example, transparantnaya pudra – prozrachnaya pudra (transparent powder), or as its alternative: rassypchataya pudra (in Russian rassypchataya – crumbly) received such a name in Russian due to its texture and fine grinding, in French this product is called poudre libre, literally ‘loose powder’ (here rather a weak correlation with English loose powder can be traced).

A specific feature of the Russian beauty industry language is the wide spread of synonymic designations of various concepts due to many factors: parallel borrowing from different languages, adding different affixes to the borrowed unit, semantic calquing. These units often form whole synonymic series, where their own logical-hierarchical relations are formed.

For example, in the Russian cosmetology language, means of makeup used to give the face a tan effect can be designated as a bronzer (To sculpt the face you can take an ordinary bronzer, which you have at home), bronzant (For example, you can easily reduce the size of your nose with the help of a dark bronzant) or bronzing powder (For those who disregard conventions, NARS presents a novelty ‒ a light bronzing powder). The most frequent unit is bronzer, it also acts as the name of the generic concept, having two hyponyms: bronzant is used to denote “a liquid bronzing product”, bronzing powder ‒ for products “with a dry, powdery texture”.

The words pigment and tint can also be considered synonyms. They are found in the phrases lip and cheek pigment and lip and cheek tint. In this case, they act as absolute synonyms and are used to designate a cosmetic product. Nevertheless, in recent years there has been a tendency towards their specialization: for example, the word pigment can be used to denote “a colouring substance included in a cosmetic product”: The elastic coating provides good “adhesion” to the pigment of shadows or eyeliners, and even in an extreme situation the shadows will not smudge and will not clog in the creases of the eyelid, and the word tint only denotes a specific product of decorative cosmetics: Tints are used, as a rule, on lips and cheeks.

Synonymic are also the units antiserne, corrector, concealer. All these words are used to denote a cosmetic product aimed at masking blue circles under the eyes. Corrector and concealer can be considered absolute synonyms, as both are actively used to refer to “a highly pigmented product that conceals imperfections on the facial skin”: Concealer under the eyes should be with a peachy undertone, which will help neutralize the grey-brown pigment, “responsible” for the earthy look of the face; Neutralizing redness, disguising dark circles under the eyes, removing traces of fatigue, making the face glow ‒ this and much more are features of green, purple, yellow and other colour correctors. The word antiserne has a more specialized meaning, acting as a hyponym in relation to the first two units and denoting “a weakly pigmented liquid product with light-reflecting particles, created specifically for thin and delicate skin around the eyes”: Even though the overlapping ability of antiserne is weak, it copes well with its task (to remove circles under the eyes).

Fixer also has several synonyms in Russian: mist, dymka, spray, gel-mist: Dymka refreshes, moisturizes and soothes the skin, and also adds radiance during the day ‒ we think it's a great addition to everyday care; The legendary Prep + Prime Fix+ spray from M.A.C Cosmetics is almost every makeup artist's “kit” and for good reason: it prepares the skin well, moisturizes and fixes it, and removes the effect of over-powdering. BeautyBlender became famous for its sponges, but recently the brand decided to expand its range of products: foundation, primers and face mists are now available. The most frequent unit is fixer: Fix the shade with a transparent fixer ‒ it will provide firmness during the day, and you cannot be afraid that your lips will smudge, while dymka tends to go out of active use.

In Russian, a cosmetic product intended for applying under foundation, fixing makeup, levelling the relief and skin tone can be denoted by the words primer, osnova and base: Any of these five primers does not contain parabens, and they are also non-comedogenic (which means that even those with super-sensitive skin can use them); First apply eye cream to the under-eye area, followed by makeup osnova and concealer (with a brush or fingers); Each Touche Éclat Blur Primer base creates the effect of rested skin, eliminating traces of fatigue and dull complexion. All three units are absolute synonyms and are steadily used in Russian-language beauty magazines and blogs.

Conclusion

Today, the use of foreign words has become so commonplace that many people call it excessive: the abundance of foreign words in advertising and in the media causes a negative reaction in some part of our country population. It is important to realize, however, that borrowing is a natural process conditioned both by cognitive processes in human consciousness (deeper and more comprehensive knowledge of reality) and by the linguistic need to nominate new phenomena and clarify their semantics.

The full-fledged development of a modern language is thus unthinkable without outside influence: only active and polyaspect language contacts contribute to the evolution of a language system that adequately responds to the challenges of the time. Fears that the Russian language may disappear, crushed by foreign languages, are also untenable: our entire linguistic history testifies to its ability to purify itself. Even now, on the material of completely new linguistic units, we observe this tendency: the cumbersome ailainer is first reduced to lainer, and then is more and more often called just a karandash (original Russian word for ‘pencil’) or podvodka (original Russian word for ‘eyeliner’), while the original Russian word osnova (‘base’) or long ago Russified basa (‘base’) successfully compete with primer.

This determines the perspectives of the present study. The formation of this lexical stratum is still far from completion, and it seems interesting to study its evolution diachronically, considering the essence and specificity of linguistic processes, their rates, the degree of modification of the lexicon depending on various factors of intraand extra-linguistic character. The obtained data should be compared with the results of studying other semantic fields that make up the lexicon of the beauty sphere. And, finally, comparative studies should be carried out using data from European languages, such as French, which has a very strict state policy on purity.

The global perspective of this study can be the creation of a systemic-synergetic model of diachronic study of foreign-language lexicon of different spheres of social life.

 

 

_{¹ The Voice. Retrieved from https://www.thevoicemag.ru}

_{² Kommersant Style. Retrieved from https://www.kommersant.ru/style?from=burger}

_{³ TOPBEAUTY. Retrieved from https://www.tbeauty.ru}

_{⁴ Glamour. Retrieved from https://www.glamour.com}

_{⁵ Marie Claire. Retrieved from https://www.marieclaire.ru}

_{⁶ Sponzhik.ru. Retrieved from https://sponzhik.ru}

_{⁷ Woman.ru. Retrieved from https://www.woman.ru/beauty/forum/}

_{⁸ The Russian National Corpus. Retrieved from https://ruscorpora.ru/}

About the authors

Anastasia V. Ageeva

Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

Author for correspondence.
Email: anastasia_ageeva@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2046-2865

Doctor of Philology, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of European Languages and Cultures, Higher School of Foreign Languages and Translation, Institute of International Relations

18 Kremlyovskaya St, Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation

Lilia R. Abdullin

Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

Email: lilioven@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0774-9757

Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of European Languages and Cultures, Higher School of Foreign Languages and Translation, Institute of International Relations

18 Kremlyovskaya St, Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation

Natalia V. Gabdreeva

Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

Email: n.gabdreeva@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0816-2672

Doctor of Philology, Professor, Head of the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language

18 Kremlyovskaya St, Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation

References