ІНТЕРПРЕТАЦІЯ ТЕРМІНА ФЕМІНІТИВ У СУЧАСНОМУ УКРАЇНСЬКОМУ МОВОЗНАВСТВІ

Nowadays the metalanguage of modern gender linguistics is in the stage of developing as a number of its terms do not have the monosemantic meaning. The feminitive (female nomination) is one of them. The aim of the article is to study the approaches of modern researchers to interpret the term feminitive. Different types of the meaning of this term, which were suggested by linguists in different research periods, are considered in this analysis. Common and different features of the term feminitive interpretation are distinguished, which are stated not only in modern dictionaries of terms, but also in research papers. This analysis gives us an opportunity to consider that there are narrow and broad approaches to the comprehension of the term feminitive. The term feminitive is a female naming unit, which is marked as the feminine gender in grammar, being the alternative to the notions of the masculine gender (Ukr. uchytel` – uchytel`ka). It is considered to be the most widespread narrow comprehension.
Some scientists narrow the meaning of this term yet more. They suppose that this notion emphasizes a group of words, which possibly show masculine and feminine genders at the same time. They are also marked as the feminine gender in the language structure (Ukr. syrota, nevdakha). These nouns are determined to be common ones. However, the notion feminitive is much broader and includes lexical, word-forming, morphemic, syntactical and phraseological units of the language system.
The feminitives are determined to be a wide sub-system of words nowadays, which have a proper status and characteristic features. However, there are two parallel ways of writing of this term – feminitive and feminative. The necessity to standardize the orthography of this term is required.