Associative Experiment: The Core and Peripheral Zone of Modern Ukrainian Surnames of Opaque Semantics

The article is devoted to the study of the associative field of modern Ukrainian surnames of non-transparent semantics. The purpose of the study is to investigate modern surnames of opaque semantics in the associative aspect, to substantiate the state and peculiarities of the surname system at the present stage of development. The objectives of the study are: a) to highlight the history, essence and types of associative experiment; 2) to analyse the peculiarities of perception of modern surnames of opaque semantics by conducting a free associative experiment; 3) to outline the associative field of the studied surnames, indicating the core, near and far periphery. The object of the study is modern surnames of opaque semantics. The subject of the study is the associative parameters of the studied surnames. The source base of the study was the real lists of surnames of students of the specialisation ‘Ukrainian Language and Literature’ at the Faculty of Philology of the I. I. Mechnikov ONU. The recipients for the free association experiment were 30 people, including 20 women and 10 men in the age group from 18 to 77 years. The scientific novelty of the work is that it is the first to outline the associative field of modern surnames of opaque semantics, identifying their core, far and near periphery. Thus, the study has established that the structure of each associative field of stimulus words in modern surnames of opaque semantics is quite heterogeneous. Some stimuli have quite ordered associative fields, while others are blurred and heterogeneous. Some stimuli have no core reactions in the associative field, which indicates that the associative meaning is not formed; most reactions are located in the far periphery zone. The periphery always indicates the manifestation of the individual in the associative field, is a structural component of the meaning. Individual reactions can become the core of associative meaning, demonstrating the diverse vision and perception of a particular concept by Ukrainians. Undoubtedly, the associations that arise in the name of opaque semantics, according to the results of our survey, are influenced by the age, gender, and profession of the respondents.