Moscow versus Saint Petersburg: assessment of the capitals in the lexical meanings of the occasional derivatives
- DOI
- 10.5922/2225-5346-2025-4-11
- Pages
- 196—210
Abstract
The article deals with occasional derivatives ‘moskvanutyj’ and ‘piternutyj’, ‘peterburgnutyj’ formed according to the model of past passive participles with resultative meaning. The aim of the analysis is to identify the stereotypes reflected in the lexical meanings of the neologisms associated with toponyms — Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The study is based on the data of the natural corpora of the Internet, such as Yandex and Google, and the results of a survey. To obtain more objective data, the respondents were divided into three groups according to their place of residence — Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other regions. The majority of respondents believe that the word ‘moskvanutyj’ is more often used in a negative sense, whereas the words ‘peterburgnutyj’ and ‘piternutyj’ have both negative and positive meanings. The analysis of examples of the words ‘moskvanutyj’, ‘piternutyj, and ‘peterburgnutyj’ allowed for the identification of the meanings based on the stereotypes associated with life in the capitals. The study reveals that the word ‘moskvanutyj’ expresses the meanings associated with a negative assessment of Moscow residents, rejection of their pace of life, values, aspirations for success, and condemnation of those who seek to move to Moscow and do not appreciate their ‘small homeland’. On the contrary, the words ‘peterburgnutyj’ and ‘piternutyj’ emphasize love for the city, contrasting its culture and art with Moscow values. The peculiarity of the formation of these words built according to the model of the past passive participle adds the element of ‘inadequacy’ and ‘craziness’ to the meanings of both words. While in the word ‘moskvanutyj’ this connotation is connected with condemnation, even with profanity, the words ‘peterburgnutyj’ and ‘piternutyj’ are more often used to express admiration.