Epidigmatics of international lexemes пилот/рilot in comparative aspect (on the material of slavic languages)

The paper аnalyses the process of development of polysemy of international lexemes pilot/пилот on the material of Polish and Russian languages. On the basis of the analysis of word definitions in lexicographic sources of different historical periods their topological structures are characterised. Comparison of lexemes’ epidigmatics in synchronic and diachronic perspective becomes the basis for identifying universal and linguistically specific features in their semantic evolution. A common tendency for the two Slavic languages is the emergence of new lexical-semantic variants as a result of specialisation of the primary meaning. Under the influence of extralinguistic factors, they begin to denote varieties of professions, depending on the vehicle being driven. The peculiarities of the development of the semantics of the word pilot in Polish include the emergence of meanings based on the metaphorical transfer from human to device («autopilot» and «remote control»), as well as on the transfer from the field of transport means driving to the cultural and entertainment sphere («tour guide»). Differences in the development of the semantics of lexemes are also characteristic for the current stage of their evolution under the influence of the processes of Anglobalisation. In Polish, the lexeme pilot starts to be used in the sense of video announcement in parallel with the autochthonous lexeme zwiastun; in Russian, the Anglo-semantism trailer functions in this sense. The innovative meaning of the lexeme pilot «experimental testing to reveal the effectiveness of an object» is transferred from English in the form of similar combinations пилотный проект and projekt pilotażowy, which in Polish functions simultaneously with the polonised variant wdrożenie pilotażowe.