Toponymic periphrases in modern media texts (using the example of city designations)

The purpose of the study is to describe the trends in the use of toponymic peripherals in Russian media texts, which serve to designate cities: to identify the degree of their relevance to native speakers of modern Russian and the features of their use in live speech. Methods . To achieve this goal, the methods of continuous sampling, observation of linguistic material, lexico- semantic and contextual analysis, and data systematization were used in the work. The results of the study show that toponymic periphrases are actively used by native speakers as a means of linguistic expression and evaluation, allowing them to focus on certain features of a geographical object, its cultural or historical significance and other distinctive properties and to some extent influence the reader's perception of the city, which is not inherent in the meaning of a separate toponym. Conclusion . The analysis of examples of the use of toponymic periphrases in modern Russian media texts provides grounds to identify some trends. The same periphrasis can be used in relation to different cities, but the specific denotation is specified in the context. The combination of a periphrasis with a toponym focuses attention on the existing seme in the meaning of the component or develops a new one. The use of certain periphrases indicates their rethinking by native speakers in connection with a change in ideology or vector of political development. The transformation of the periphrasis in speech fills it with a new meaning. Media texts use wordplay based on the repeti- tion of a component of a peripheral expression or its form. The study of toponymic peripherals has prospects due to the vastness of the current linguistic material.