verbal associations

In the article, playing techniques of the schoolchildren’s reactions, the causes and the modes of the design of non-usage words are investigated on the material of the Associative Dictionary of the Schoolchildren of Saratov and the Saratov Region. Such reactions are considered as the manifestation of linguistic creativity of the schoolchildren.

The article shows how a multifaceted approach, which involves the use of different methodological techniques in studying complex phenomena, can facilitate the study of lexemes with the general meaning of human action, in particular, the meta-names of actions. It is applied to the study of an example of a meta-name “gesture”.