From «Waste» to «Relationships»: Semantic Expansion of Lexemes «токсичный» vs. «toxisch» in Russian and German

M. V. Milovanova; N. L. Shamne

doi:10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-5-68-83

From «Waste» to «Relationships»: Semantic Expansion of Lexemes «токсичный» vs. «toxisch» in Russian and German

M. V. Milovanova, N. L. Shamne

https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-5-68-83

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Abstract

This paper examines the concept denoted by the lexemes токсичный in Russian and toxisch in German. The research is based on linguistic corpora, including the Russian National Corpus and the Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, as well as digital footprint data (search queries, Yandex. Wordstat, Google Trends). The study aims to identify the specifics of the semantic expansion of these units within Russian and German linguocultures, tracing their evolution from the objectification of physicochemical harm to socio-psychological contexts. Key thematic clusters of collocations for each linguoculture are identified, along with the distinctive features of their collocation profiles: in Russian, the profile of токсичный remains largely confined to its original domain — ecology and chemistry (denotative meaning); in German, toxisch is actively employed beyond its initial domain, permeating public discourse (figurative meaning). A general mechanism of expansion is identified as the conceptual metaphor of harmful social influence as a physical poison. It is established that culturally specific vectors of this metaphorical transfer differ: in German, social pragmatics dominates, including criticism of patriarchal structures, discussions of mental health, and the quality of social interactions; in Russian, there is an emerging process of everyday, applied conceptualization of toxicity, primarily within the sphere of personal relationships.

Keywords

токсичный, toxisch, collocation profile, semantic expansion, Russian linguoculture, German linguoculture

About the Authors

M. V. Milovanova

Volgograd State University
Russian Federation

Marina V. Milovanova, Doctor of Philology, Professor, Department of Russian Philology and Journalism

Volgograd

N. L. Shamne

Volgograd State University
Russian Federation

Nikolay L. Shamne, Doctor of Philology, Professor, Department of Foreign Language Communication and Linguodidactics

Volgograd

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Review

For citations:

Milovanova M.V., Shamne N.L. From «Waste» to «Relationships»: Semantic Expansion of Lexemes «токсичный» vs. «toxisch» in Russian and German. Nauchnyi dialog. 2026;15(5):68-83. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-5-68-83

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