Abstract:

The number of Chinese students studying outside of China is growing every year. Despite the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of Chinese students in Russian universities has not decreased thanks to the use of remote education.

One of the problems of acculturation to Russia among Chinese students in general, and their effective education in Russian universities, in particular, is the difficulties in learning the Russian language. In general, the difficulties of learning Russian by Chinese students are associated with the fact that their native and studied languages belong to different morphological groups: Russian is an flectional language, and Chinese is an isolating language. At the same time, both in Russian and in Chinese languages, the phenomenon of polysemy is widely represented, the main types of which are a metaphor and a metonymy.
Understanding polysemantic words is a separate problem in the study of the Russian language by Chinese students, the analysis of which is the purpose of the present study.

A total of 105 Chinese students study at Russian universities from 1 to 6 years took part in the research. The survey collected examples of polysemantic words (metaphors and metonyms) that are widely used in the speech of modern youth in Chinese and Russian languages. The analysis revealed both similarities and differences in the use and understanding of polysemantic words by Chinese students in Russian and in Chinese languages. The similarities are most pronounced in the field of computer games and technologies vocabulary, since many of these words in both languages were borrowed from English. The differences are mainly manifested in the use of polysemantic words associated with the cultural and historical traditions of Russia and China, including the semiotic nature of Chinese hieroglyphic writing.

Based on the findings of the study, recommendations have been developed for teachers of the Russian language to Chinese students, which will help to overcome difficulties in the study and understanding of polysemantic words, taking into account the identified specifics of their use in the compared languages.

Keywords:

Polysemy, Metaphor, Metonymy, Chinese Language, Russian Language, Chinese Students.