Linguistic and cultural potential of vocabulary with an ethnic component in teaching Russian to foreign students

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The relevance of this study is related to the linguistic-cultural potential of vocabulary with an ethnic meaning, having complex systemic characteristics and implicit culturally marked content, that should be included in teaching Russian to foreign students. The study is aimed at identifying and describing the linguistic-cultural potential of vocabulary with an ethnic component for teaching Russian to foreign students based on lexicographic sources. The main methods used in the study are lexicographic, semantic, quantitative, associative, and interpretative analysis of vocabulary. The study material was a corpus of lexical means with an ethnic meaning (more than 400 units in general totality) collected with a continuous sampling from academic explanatory, semantic, and ideographic dictionaries of the Russian language and coordinated with the “Lexical Minimum in Russian as a Foreign Language. II Certification Level” (select collection). The authors established that vocabulary with an ethnic component is a complex structure, including anthroponyms, ethnonyms, and words with the same root; it contains systemic, connotative, associative and evaluative, background, and idiomatically conditioned culturally marked information. The study demonstrates that the linguistic-cultural potential of this vocabulary must be considered when teaching Russian to foreign students. The research prospects include the creation of a comprehensive educational dictionary “Russian Vocabulary with an Ethnic Component”.

About the authors

Galina M. Vasileva

Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia

Author for correspondence.
Email: filfak_herzen@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4169-0330
SPIN-code: 2554-1216
Scopus Author ID: 57201287550

Doctor of Philology, Professor, Professor of Intercultural Communication Department of Philological Faculty

52 1st line V.O, Saint Petersburg, 199053, Russian Federation

Ruichen Dai

Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia

Email: dairuichen0@gmail.com
Graduate student, Intercultural Communication Department of Philological Faculty 52 1st line V.O, Saint Petersburg, 199053, Russian Federation

References

  1. Abbasbeyli, S. V. (2024). On cognitive onomastics. Path of Science, 10(7), 6038–6043. https://doi.org/10.22178/pos.106-2b EDN: HHNUXO
  2. Agar-Hutton, R. (2003). How to deal with verbal aggression. London: Troubador Publ.
  3. Ageeva, R. A. (1990). Countries and peoples: The origin of names. Moscow: Nauka Publ. (In Russ.).
  4. Apresyan, Yu. D. (1995). Connotations as Part of Word Paradigmatics. In Selected works. Integral description of language, systemic lexicography. Vol. 2 (pp. 156–177). Moscow: School “Languages of Russian Culture”. (In Russ.).
  5. Chanda, V. M. (2017). Issues in the linguistics of onomastics. Journal of Lexicography and Terminology, 1(2), 67–106.
  6. Deese, J. (1965). The structure of associations in language and thought. Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press.
  7. Dorzhieva, G. S. (2010). Ethnotoponyms of Quebec. Moscow University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, 19(4), 113–122. (In Russ.). EDN: NDCKQP
  8. Karasik, V. I., & Shaklein, V. M. (2025). Symbolization of paper in the Russian language and culture. Russian Language Studies, 23(1), 81–96. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.22363/2618-8163-2025-23-1-81-96 EDN: VIZNUJ
  9. Karaulov, Yu. N. (2000). Semantic gestalt of the associative field and images of consciousness. In Linguistic Consciousness: Content and Functioning. XIII International Symposium on Psycholinguistics and Communication Theory: Abstracts of Papers (pp. 107–109). Moscow. (In Russ.).
  10. Kwon, J., Rogaleva, E. I., & Nikitina, T. G. (2025). Learner’s cross-cultural dictionary: The specifics of macro- and microstructuring (a case study of a Russian-Korean dictionary of proverbs). Russian Journal of Lexicography, (35), 63–81. (In Russ.). https://doi. org/10.17223/22274200/35/4 EDN: OJKNIX
  11. Lapteva, M. L., & Firsova, M. A. (2023). Linguistic and cultural foundations of verbal aggression in the Russian language. Russian Language Studies, 21(4), 424–439. https://doi.org/10.22363/2618-8163-2023-21-4-424-439 EDN: GBLHRZ
  12. Li, Yu. (2018). A linguocultural approach to teaching connotatively marked vocabulary to Chinese philology students (based on phytonyms). [Author’s abstr. cand. ped. diss.]. Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.).
  13. Martynova, A. O. (2017). Linguistic methodological potential of culturally marked lexical associations as a basis for the formation of intercultural competence of international students [Author’s abstr. cand. ped. diss.]. Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.).
  14. Nekora, N. E. The linguocultural aspect of the concept “disease” and its consideration in Teaching Russian to American students. [Author’s abstr. cand. ped. diss.]. St. Petersburg. (In Russ.). EDN: NJHGIL
  15. Rassokha, M. N. (2010). Ethnonyms as identity markers in language and culture. Siberian Journal of Philology, (2), 189–196. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17223/18137083/31/25 EDN: MWCAMV
  16. Reszegi, K. (2022). A cognitive approach in onomastics: Some notes on metaphorical PlactNamts. Problems of Onomastics, 19(1), 235–244. https://doi.org/10.15826/vopr_ onom.2022.19.1.012 EDN: UZSQIZ
  17. Shaklein, V. M. (1998). Linguoculturological theory in Teaching Russian as a foreign Language. Russian Language Abroad, (3), 97–101. (In Russ.). EDN: TKBAPZ
  18. Shaklein, V. M. (2012). Linguoculturology: Traditions and innovations. Moscow: Flinta: Nauka Publ. (In Russ.).
  19. Shaklein, V. M. (1999). Linguocultural Content of Words and Sentences. Russian Language, Literature and Culture at the Turn of the Century: Reports and Presentations by Russian Scientists. Bratislava. (In Russ.). EDN: YOSQKI
  20. Superanskaya, A. V. (2007). General theory of proper names (2nd rev. ed.). Moscow: LKI Publ. (In Russ.).
  21. Temirgazina, Z. K., & Bachurka, M. S. (2017). Speech acts of aggressive character in the pedagogical discourse. Speech Genres, (1), 51–57. (In Russ.). https://doi. org/10.18500/2311-0740-2017-1-15-51-57 EDN: WYDPDY
  22. Ufimtseva, N. V. (2014). Russian associative dictionary as a source for studying the Russian linguistic picture of the world. Journal of Historical, Philological and Cultural Studies, (3), 27–29. (In Russ.). EDN: QSYKEP
  23. Ufimtseva, N. V., & Balyasnikova, O. V. (2021). National identity and the associative-verbal network: On a hypothesis of Yu.N. Karaulov. RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics, 12(2), 238–254. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.22363/23132299-2021-12-2-238-254 EDN: RYOHZG
  24. Vasilieva, G., & Huang, Z. (2021). Geographic images of the four cardinal directions (east, west, north, south) in the linguistic consciousness of Russian and Chinese students. In Proceedings of Topical Issues in International Political Geography (pp. 462–474). Springer International Publ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78690-8_40 EDN: QRTWPB
  25. Vasileva, G. M., & Levina, I. N. (2017). Lexico-syntactic dictionary of complex sentences for foreign students: Theoretical and methodological guidelines. Russian Journal of Lexicography, (12), 5–23. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17223/22274200/12/1 EDN: OSAGVP
  26. Vasilieva, G. M. (2019). Theoretical and methodological landmarks of an educational linguoculturological dictionary for foreign philologists. Russian Language Studies, 17(3), 366–381. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.22363/2618-8163-2019-17-3-366-381 EDN: BHLTDA
  27. Vinogradova, M. V. (2013). A linguocultural approach to teaching foreign philological students verbs of speech characterized by sound and pronunciation. [Author’s abstr. cand. ped. diss.]. Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.). EDN: SVFPWD
  28. Vorobyov, V. V. (2000). General and specific in linguistic and cultural studies. In Word and text in the dialogue of cultures (pp. 83–92). Moscow: MAPRYAL. (In Russ.).
  29. Vorobyov V. V. (1994). Linguoculturology (Theory and Methods). Moscow: RUDN University Publ. (In Russ.).
  30. Vorobyov, V. V., Sknarev, D. S., & Tagayev, M. D. (2025). The origins, current issues, and prospects of communicative cultural linguistics. Russian Language Studies, 23(1), 7–21). (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.22363/2618-8163-2025-23-1-7-21 EDN: UXYJVI
  31. Yang, H. (2021). Formation of philological competence of Chinese students based on the linguocultural type of the “Russian intelligentsia”. [Author’s abstr. cand. ped. diss.]. Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.).

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Copyright (c) 2026 Vasileva G.M., Dai R.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.