Study of the features of lacunar units of the German language at the semantic level

Natalija A. Narykova and Inna V. Kryukova
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Natalija A. Narykova: Stavropol Branch of the Krasnodar University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation
Inna V. Kryukova: Stavropol Branch of the Krasnodar University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation

Russian Social and Humanitarian Studies, 2026, vol. 18, issue 1, 106–119

Abstract: Background. One of the unique features of each language is the presence of lexical lacunae — such lexical units that have no equivalent in another language. Lexical lacunar units reflect the cultural, historical, social and everyday characteristics of the nation. The object of this study is lexical lacunae in the German language, while the subject is the linguistic and cultural features of lexical lacunae when comparing German and Russian. The purpose of the work is to analyze and describe the semantic features of lacunar units of the German language. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that lexical lacunar units not only characterize the features of the language, but are also a productive way to study its national and cultural specifics. Lacunar lexical units, background knowledge, a linguistic picture of the world — all this contributes to the formation of a culturological worldview. The scientific novelty of the study is due to the fact that the phenomenon of lexical lacunarity in comparable languages has not yet been the subject of a separate in‑depth study. The novelty of the work also lies in the stylistic and word‑forming analysis of the studied vocabulary. The research material was the vocabulary of the German and Russian languages, presented in lexicographic sources, as well as free sources of the Internet. In the course of the study, the following methods were used: a method of linguistic description based on structural‑semantic analysis, a method of comparison and generalization. Based on a sample of definitions of the term “lacuna”, “lacunar unit”, as well as various classifications of lacunar units, the main signs and characteristics of this linguistic phenomenon were determined. According to the results of the study, it has been revealed that lacunar units are a linguistic and cultural phenomenon that exists at different levels of language and culture. Lacunae can be an obstacle to mutual understanding of carriers of different cultures, so the problem of lacunarity is especially important in the modern world. Most of the lacunar lexical units of the German language are composites and subderivates, which have both stylistically neutral coloring and expressive, as well as evaluating. Most of the lexical lacunar units reflect the state of mind of a person, his or her emotional sphere. The research materials can be used in the process of mastering the German language for oral speech practice, as well as at lexicology and translation courses.

Keywords: lacuna; lacunar lexical unit; word formation; equivalent; transmissibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cxm:russhs:18:1:2026:106-119

DOI: 10.12731/3033-5981-2026-18-1-543

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