Connotative macrotoponyms: dynamic aspect

We present an analysis of the connotative potential of macrotoponyms Asia, America, Europe, China, Russia, whose emotional-evaluative connotations form a fragment of the value world picture of modern native speakers of the Russian language. The purpose of the undertaken research is to find out onymic and postonymic connotations of the onyms which have taken shape under the influence of political, economical and cultural factors in the Russian society for the last three decades. To evaluate these connotations we analyze the contextual usage of the studied onyms in connotative usage in texts of mass media and journalism. We determine the dynamic of the research macrotoponyms connotations in the designated period. We identify persistent connotations of research toponyms, connotations which are losing their relevance and connotation which are forming last several years. This indicates the mobility of the language consciousness of native speakers of the Russian language, also this shows that this or that connotative meaning of onym is relevant in a certain period of time. An interesting fact is that by macrotoponyms Europe and America positive connotations are replaced by negative connotations. Toponyms Asia, China and toponyms China, Russia has synonymous connotations. Connotations of toponym Europe are often contrasted with connotations of toponym Russia. The obtained results can be used by the lexicographic description of the research connotative toponyms.