ГЛАМУР КАК «СТАРАЯ НОВАЯ СВЕТСКОСТЬ»?
GLAMOUR AS “THE OLD NEW SVETSKOST”?

Summary/Abstract: The word “svetsky” is still widespread in modern Russian speech. But significant changes in its content did not occur immediately after the revolution, but for the past ten years. At this time, its partial synonym – “glamour” – has appeared. Analysis of the data obtained with the help of the Integrum system shows that for a correct understanding of the meaning of “glamour” in modern Russian culture is useful to draw a parallel between the today's expansion of the glamour and the essentially similar expansion of the “svetsky” style into Russian culture about two centuries ago. The article analyzes comparable and incomparable contexts in which there are “svet” and “glamour” in the contemporary press: 1) comparable contexts, 2) the contexts in which much more the proportion of “svet”, and 3) the contexts in which much more the proportion of “glamour”. So, “svet” is indispensable to the “glamour” in the following areas: when it stresses that we are talking about the realities of the past (notably, XIX century), in idioms and collocations (also going back to that past), and in all cases where such semantic components of the concept of “svet” as the aristocracy, elite status, power are stressed. Prerogative of the “glamour” is the field of experiment, sex, negative expressive characteristics of a person, effects, and the world of fashion. Noteworthy is clearly more communicative nature of the concept “svet”. So, for the concept of “svetsky person” communicative component is essential, we can say that a svetsky person – someone who is capable of svetskaya beseda (small talk). For the “glamour” communicative contexts are generally rare. The concept “svet”, whose meanings were initially quite clearly divided into non-communicative and communicative, has experienced an almost complete loss of its non-communicative component now, because in fact everything (“svet” in all its manifestations, the whole old way of life of Russian nobility) except the actual manner of communication has disappeared. Now, non-communicative meaning of “svet” is preserved only in texts belonging to a bygone era, or stylizing it. Thus, non-communicative component of “svet” was unsolicited – in many respects, this gap is filled primarily by the meanings of the “new glamor”. KEY WORDS: svet, glamour, the Integrum system.

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