THE PARADIGM OF «COLLECTIVE» NOUNS WITH SUFFIXES -NICK-, -NYAK-

The article examines the semantics and functioning features of one of the groups of nouns traditionally considered as collective. The problem of distinguishing lexico-grammatical categories of nouns determining their nature and boundaries has long attracted the attention of scientists. In the framework of modern research it is often considered from the point of view of the transition of words from one lexico-grammatical category to another. This is reflected in their grammatical properties, primarily in their ability to be used in both singular and plural forms. The object of the study is nouns with the suffixes -nyak-, -nick-, formed from words naming plants (trees, shrubs, and rarely herbaceous plants). It is noted that words with these suffixes are traditionally considered as collective in educational publications, specialized scientific papers, and lexicographic practice. At the same time, the analysis of functioning indicates that in many cases they have signs of specific nouns. To answer the question whether this is a manifestation of the concretization of the meaning of collective nouns in modern Russian, allows a consistent analysis of the use of such nouns, the principles of their lexicographic description, as well as their consideration in the context of hypo-hyperonymic relations.