Journal archive

Abstract: In the context of the internationalization of higher education and the growing number of international students enrolled in Russian universities, increasing importance is being attached to the linguodidactic support of training programs in International Relations and Foreign Regional Studies. A review of the scholarly literature reveals an insufficient development of lexicographic tools aimed at fostering the professional communicative competence of this category of international students. The article substantiates the concept of a professionally oriented Russian language learner’s dictionary designed specifically for international students majoring in Regional Studies, taking into account the specific features of their future professional activities. The study provides a lexicographic review and classification of the existing Russian-language dictionaries. The main types of lexicographic resources are classified according to their purpose, scope, methods of semantic interpretation, and the nature of the information presented. The article systematizes the approaches to the selection of terminological vocabulary and principles for incorporating linguocultural commentary. The results of the review make it possible to identify gaps in the contemporary lexicographic practice and to determine promising directions for the development of specialized dictionaries intended for future specialists in international relations and regional studies. Particular attention is paid to the design and theoretical justification of a learner’s dictionary model focusing on specialized vocabulary for international students of Regional Studies. The proposed model is grounded in the principles of generative grammar, metalinguistic theory, and the cognitive-communicative approach to language teaching. The dictionary is conceived as a multifunctional, professionally oriented lexicographic resource based on the corpus data derived from the “Word Portrait” service of the Russian National Corpus, which ensures the reliability and authenticity of the selected linguistic material. A sample dictionary entry for the lexical unit taktika (‘tactics’) is presented, along with methodological principles for selecting linguistic information about this word. The authors present a set of illustrative exercises based on the dictionary materials and the corpus data, with a focus on the acquisition of the word semantics and the specific features of its use in professional discourse. It is emphasized that the original authorial structure of the dictionary entry, combined with the accompanying practice exercises, is designed to foster the development of the professional linguistic personality of future specialists in international relations and regional studies. The presented dictionary may contribute to the further development of pedagogical lexicography of Russian as a Foreign Language in the era of digital technologies.

About the author(s) :

Olga A. Scherbak

Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University

(Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9872-384X

Elena V. Dziuba

Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University

(Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3833-516X

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 05.08.2026; date of publication: 31.10.2026

References:

Akbaba, T. (2018). Printsipy sozdaniya kompleksnogo uchebnogo slovarya RKI: glagoly peredachi informatsii = Principles of compiling a comprehensive learner’s dictionary of Russian as a foreign language: Verbs of information transfer. Bulletin of Moscow Region State University. Series: Pedagogy, 3, 148–157. DOI: 10.18384/2310-7219-2018-3-148-157. EDN YLRDVR.

Apazhev, M. L. (2005). Leksikografiya: teoriya i praktika = Lexicography: Theory and practice. Nalchik: Elbrus Publishing House, 375 p. EDN FWTTCW.

Chomsky, N. (1972). Yazyk i myshlenie = Language and mind. Moscow: Moscow University Publishing House, 122 p.

Denisov, P. N. (1993). Leksika russkogo yazyka i printsipy ee opisaniya = The vocabulary of the Russian language and principles of its description. 2^nd edition. Moscow: Russkiy yazyk Publishing House, 245 p.

Devyatkova, O. I., Kantysheva, N. G. (2022). Proektirovanie terminologicheskogo uchebnogo slovarya tamozhennoy sfery: korpusnyy podkhod = Designing a terminological learner’s dictionary for the customs domain: A corpus-based approach. Lexicography Issues, 25, 55–80. DOI: 10.17223/22274200/25/3. EDN ROWJOG.

Dolbilova, D. V. (2025). Funktsii uchebnogo slovarya integrirovannogo tipa v professional′no orientirovannom obuchenii russkomu yazyku kak inostrannomu v neyazykovom vuze = Functions of an integrated-type educational dictionary in professionally oriented teaching of Russian as a foreign language at a non-linguistic university. Pedagogy: Theory and Practice, 10(6), 811–817. DOI: 10.30853/ped20250096. EDN KDKCXF.

Dubichinsky, V. V. (2008). Leksikografiya russkogo yazyka = Lexicography of the Russian language. Moscow: Nauka Publishing House; Flinta Publishing House, 432 p. ISBN 978-5-9765-0658-9.

Dubichinsky, V. V., Meteshkin, K. A. (2005). Mesto i rol′ sovremennoy leksikografii v metodologii nauki = The place and role of modern lexicography in the methodology of science. Applied linguistics. Kharkiv: MSU Publishing House.

Dziuba, E. V., Shcherbak, O. A. (2026). Proekt slovarya professional′no orientirovannogo russkogo yazyka kak inostrannogo na osnove korpusnykh dannykh = A project for a dictionary of professionally oriented Russian as a foreign language based on corpus data. Language, culture, mentality, 13–19. Saint Petersburg: Herzen University. EDN YWHLTP.

Elistratov, V. S. (2004). Yazyk staroy Moskvy: Lingvoentsiklopedicheskiy slovar′ = The language of old Moscow: A linguistic-encyclopedic dictionary. Moscow: AST Publishing House, 795 p.

Gerd, A. S. (1996). Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya leksikografiya = Scientific and technical lexicography. Applied Linguistics, 287–301. Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg University Publishing House.

Grigorovich, L. A. (2011). Uchebnaya leksikografiya: teoriya i praktika = Educational lexicography: Theory and practice. Russian Speech, 6, 47–50. EDN OJYMJB.

Kobrin, R. Yu. (1985). Opyt semanticheskoy klassifikatsii slovarey = Attempt at a semantic classification of dictionaries. Theoretical problems of scientific and technical terminology and translation practice, 70–72. Omsk.

Komarova, Z. I. (1991). Semanticheskaya struktura spetsial′nogo slova i ee leksikograficheskoe opisanie = The semantic structure of a specialized term and its lexicographical description. Sverdlovsk: Ural University Publishing House, 156 p.

Kozyrev, V. A., Chernyak, V. D. (2004). Russkaya leksikografiya = Russian lexicography. Moscow: Drofa Publishing House, 286 p. EDN RTTFOF.

Kozyrev, V. A., Chernyak, V. D. (2014). Sovremennye orientatsii otechestvennoy leksikografii = Modern orientations of Russian lexicography. Issues in Lexicography, 1(5), 5–15. EDN SPDXCN.

Kulikova, I. S., Salmina, D. V. (2002). Vvedenie v metalingvistiku: sistemnyy, leksikograficheskiy i kommunikativno-pragmaticheskiy aspekty lingvisticheskoy terminologii = Introduction to metalinguistics: Systemic, lexicographical, and communicative-pragmatic aspects of linguistic terminology. Saint Petersburg: SAGA Publishing House, 352 p. EDN RYVEIZ.

Markina, E. I. (2011). O sootnoshenii ponyatiy «leksicheskiy minimum» i «uchebnyy slovar′» v metodike prepodavaniya rus-skogo yazyka kak inostrannogo = On the relationship between the concepts of “lexical minimum” and “educational dictionary” in the methodology of teaching Russian as a foreign language. Izvestia: Herzen University Journal of Humanities & Sciences, 129, 247–250. EDN OFVETL.

Morkovkin, V. V. (1970). Ideograficheskie slovari = Ideographic dictionaries. Moscow: Moscow University Publishing House, 71 p. EDN PIWZHG.

Nikitina, T. G., Rogaleva, E. I. (2023). Sovremennye uchebnye slovari v praktike prepodavaniya RKI = Modern learner’s dictionaries in the practice of teaching Russian as a foreign language. Russian as a foreign language: History, present, and future, 368–372. Kazan: Kazan University Publishing House. EDN RAWSTA.

Ozhegov, S. I. (1952). O trekh tipakh tolkovykh slovarey sovremennogo russkogo yazyka = On three types of explanatory dictionaries of the modern Russian language. Issues in Linguistics, 2, 85–103.

Ozhegov, S. I. (1974). Leksikologiya. Leksikografiya. Kul′tura rechi = Lexicology. Lexicography. Culture of speech. Moscow: Vysshaya shkola Publishing House, 350 p.

Polivanov, E. D. (1926). Kratkiy russko-uzbekskiy slovar′ = Concise Russian-Uzbek dictionary. Tashkent: Central Asian State Publishing House, 218 p.

Romenskaya, V. F. (1978). O klassifikatsionnoy skheme «tip slovarya» = On the classification scheme of “dictionary types”. Structural and applied linguistics, 182–188. Leningrad.

Rybkina, A. A. (2005). Pedagogicheskie usloviya formirovaniya professional′nykh umeniy kursantov uchebnykh zavedeniy MVD v protsesse obucheniya inostrannomu yazyku = Pedagogical conditions for the development of professional skills in cadets of Ministry of Internal Affairs educational institutions during foreign language instruction. Saratov: Saratov Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 151 p. EDN QRVNWF.

Shcherba, L. V. (1974). Opyt obshchey teorii leksikografii = An essay on a general theory of lexicography. Language system and speech activity, 265–304. Moscow: Nauka Publishing House.

Shimchuk, E. G. (2009). Russkaya leksikografiya = Russian lexicography. Moscow: Akademiya Publishing House. EDN QULFON.

Shmelkova, V. V. (2009). Russkaya leksika v pervoy treti i v kontse XX veka (sotsiolingvisticheskie paralleli) = Russian vocabulary in the first third and at the end of the 20^th century (sociolinguistic parallels). RUDN Journal of Education: Languages and Specialization, 3, 26–30. EDN KVERBL.

Vasilieva, G. M. (2019). Teoreticheskie i metodicheskie orientiry uchebnogo lingvokul′turologicheskogo slovarya dlya inostrannykh studentov-filologov = Theoretical and methodological guidelines for an educational linguocultural dictionary for foreign philology students. Russian Studies, 17(3), 366–381. DOI: 10.22363/2618-8163-2019-17-3-366-381. EDN BHLTDA.

Vereitinova, M. M. (2010). K voprosu o metodicheskoy kontseptsii sozdaniya uchebnogo slovarya paronimov-neologizmov (na materiale prilagatel′nykh) = On the methodological concept of creating an educational dictionary of neologistic paronyms (based on adjectives). Bulletin of the RUDN University. Series: Russian and Foreign Languages and Methods of Teaching It, 3, 103–110. EDN MUWOZB.

Vvedenskaya, L. A. (2007). Russkaya leksikografiya = Russian lexicography. Moscow: MarT Publishing House; Rostov-on-Don: MarT Publishing Center, 352 p. ISBN 978-5-222-18175-1.

Zagorovskaya, O. V. (2020). Etapy razvitiya russkogo yazyka v noveyshiy period ego istorii (rubezh XX–XXI vekov) = Stages of development of the Russian language in the latest period of its history (the turn of the 20^th–21^st centuries). Current Issues in Modern Philology and Journalism, 4(39), 16–23. DOI: 10.36622/AQMPJ.2020.39.4.002. EDN PONRCJ.

Zagorovskaya, O. V., Biryukova, E. D. (2017). Uchebnyy normativno-stilisticheskiy slovar′ russkogo yazyka kak inostrannogo: kontseptsiya i struktura = Educational normative and stylistic dictionary of Russian as a foreign language: Concept and structure. Bulletin of the RUDN University. Series: Russian and Foreign Languages and Methods of Teaching It, 15(2), 215–230. DOI: 10.22363/2313-2264-2017-15-2-215-230. EDN WDJPQK.

Zagorovskaya, O. V., Rudenya, Zh. I. (2015). Semantizatsiya zhargonnykh leksicheskikh edinits v slovare dlya izuchayushchikh russkiy yazyk kak nerodnoy = Semantization of jargon lexical units in a dictionary for learners of Russian as a non-native language. Bulletin of the RUDN University. Series: Russian and Foreign Languages and Methods of Teaching It, 4, 39–46. EDN VBJVED.

Zgusta, L. (1971). Manual of Lexicography. Prague: Academia; The Hague: Mouton, 360 p. DOI: 10.1515/9783111349183.