Color epithets in prose by Rasul Gamzatov: the case of the book “My Dagestan”

The article considers the peculiarity of color epithets in functional and semantic aspects based on the material of Rasul Gamzatov’s prose book “My Dagestan”. The relevance of this study is associated with the study of the language picture of the poet’s prose through color definitions, the functioning of which allows us to highlight the features of the author’s worldview, his idiostyle, the expressive capabilities of the language system of Gamzatov. The goal is to study the features of the functioning of color vocabulary as epithets in the poet’s fiction, taking into account its belonging to direct and figurative meanings and its prevalence, as well as to establish the most frequent color epithets and reveal the features of their aesthetic meanings. The tasks of the study include the detection of color epithets of various shades, the identification of direct and figurative nominations, the definition of the specifics and form of expression (adjective, nominal, verb). Color epithets in the Gamzatov’s book “My Dagestan” are widely used for a brighter, more visible, figurative description of objects, phenomena, events and characters. Colors help to convey the portraits and emotions of the heroes, the state of nature, the characteristics of objects and serve as the author’s assessment of the depicted. The use of color vocabulary enhances the imagery of the language of the work, enriches and decorates its speech and is a characteristic stylistic device that performs aesthetic and semantic functions.