Rol' sobstvenno-otsenochnoy semantiki pri vyrazhenii laskovogootnosheniya v sovremennom russkom yazyke

The role of evaluative semantics in expressing tenderness in modern Russian This article is devoted to the study of the Russian language’s valuational units expressing affectionate relations, as well as their lexicographic description. The above-mentioned group of words has not received a proper description in the academic literature in comparison with the nominative-valuative vocabulary with diminutive and inflectional suffixes. Special attention is paid to thematic affiliation as a factor determining the degree of emotional evaluation. Lexical-thematic groups are distinguished – precious, divinity, light, sweetness – which define the expression of tenderness by means of metaphorical names. The traditional ways of expressing tenderness towards children, women and loved ones are highlighted. Cases of the revision, transposition and sensibilization of evaluation semantics were considered. The conclusions of this article can be used in the lexicographic description of Russian vocabulary and in the practice of teaching Russian as a foreign language. Keywords: semantics, valuative meaning, thematic relevance, vocabulary, Russian language