The article deals with the theory of emotivity developed by V. I. Shakhovsky which is applied to the analysis of Russian anthroponyms. The author shows that proper names are able to connote acquiring additional expressive and evaluative meanings. The author specifies that personal names have three forms: full (official), short (used by family members) and diminutive-augmentative or meliorative-pejorative. It is claimed that V. I. Shakhovsky’s method can be applied to the analysis of other types of proper names (toponyms, ergonyms, etc.).

The article deals with various aspects of the toponymic space in the multinational region by the example of the Republic of Kalmykia. The stages of formation of toponymyof this area and the changes caused by social factors are under consideration. There are some examples of toponyms with clear etymologies and difficult cases of search for etymological solutions. It is noted that ethnolingual diversity of geographical names of the region needs to be systematically described;it can be implemented in the form of a toponymic dictionary which is being created by a team of Elista and Volgograd onomatologists.

The article deals with the history of the toponymic vocabulary in the territory of the present Republic of Kalmykia. The cartographic materials are under consideration, the examples of dictionary entries of the planned toponymic dictionary of the Kalmyk Republic are represented in the article.

The article deals with the contribution of Professor R.I. Kudryashova to research of Russian dialectology. The largest works are analyzed, the basic achievements of the Volgograd ethnolinguistic school headed by her are determined.

The article deals with the cases of disaffrication in the Russian folk dialects. It is stated that this process originates from the proto-Slavic epoch when sonorous affricates disappeared. The reason for the linking element in affricates to disappear is in the principle of rising sonority fundamental for syllable structure in the proto-Slavic language.

The article deals with the modern condition and sources of the dialect of the Romanovka village, Olkhovsky district, investigated in the course of the ethnolinguistic expedition in 2016. The phonetic and grammar signs of the dialect, as well as the historical information allow the conclusion that the first settlers arrived in Romanovka in 1824-1826 from the Krutitsa village, Mosalsky Uyezd, Kaluga Province. The authors point out the steadiness of the Russian folk dialect at the territory of later settling.

The article deals with the toponyms of the Republic of Kalmykia, determines the contents of the toponymic dictionary and the structure of the dictionary entry. The examples of dictionary entries of the planned dictionary of Kalmyk toponyms are given in the article.

The article deals with the history of ethnolinguistic research in the region, the work of the Russian language department of the Volgograd State Socio-Pedagogical Institute (University) in gathering and classification of dialectal material. The contribution to the establishment and development of the Volgograd ethnolinguistic school by L.M. Orlov, R.I. Kudryashova and other researchers is determined.

There are studied the stages of formation of the urbanonymic space in the ancient world. There is carried out the lexical and semantic and etymological analysis of ubran terms. There is considered the formation of the urbanonymic space of the ancient Greek and Roman towns.

There is considered the ethnic and subethnic population of the Volgograd region, determined the key role of the Russian people, characterized its dialectal peculiarities, analyzed the folk speech of the Ukrainians, the Tatars who live in the region. There are found out the locations where the Kazakhs, the Azerbaijanis, the Armenians and people of other nations live.

There is considered the reflection in the creative work of a modern Russian writer B.P. Yekimov of the peculiarities of the linguistic culture of Don Cossacks. There are analyzed the text fragments (textemes) full of linguistic cultural contents, reflecting the urgent significant for dialect native speakers notions about the reality. There is characterized the role of B.P. Yekimov’s creative work in the development of the dialect lexicography.

Based on the archival materials, there is described the dialect of Gorniy Balykley of Dubovsky region, which keeps North Great Russian features, but as a whole does not stand out of the South Russian dialect, because it has a morphological system close to the neighboring dialects, and a similar vocabulary.

Onomastics as an independent scientific area was established only in the middle of the XX century. The decisive contribution to the establishment and development of the Russian onomastic terminology was made by the dictionary by N.V.Podolskaya (1978, 2nd edition - 1988). The new dictionary of onomastic terminology, which carries on the traditions of N.V.Podolskaya, should contain the definitions of the new terms, characteristic for the development of science of the XXI century, show the connection of onomastics and linguistics, history, geography, social science, culturology and other spheres.

There is shown that anthroponyms are an important means of national culture reflecting that expresses itself in naming official formula structure, in choice of vocative and qualitative forms, in the whole of peoples anthroponymy.