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The author describes the main problems which the French and Russian languages face in the modern world. The high degree of state support of the language in the French-speaking countries is contrasted to the inadequate support of Russian by the state under the conditions of globalization.

This article deals, firstly, with the activities of Saratov researchers of speech genres; secondly, presents the contents of four volumes of «Speech Genresy, collection of articles published in Saratov. 

The article presents the works of Saratov researchers of language functioning. The article mainly focuses оп the activity of the Department Russian language and speech communication. 

The article is based on the essays written by students in the Department of Philology and Journalism of Saratov State University. In their essays, they reflect оn the degree of affinity аnd distinctionsbetween philology and modern mass-media studies.

The latest novel by V. Pelevin is looked into а$ а text centered оп е language, as demonstrated by examination of plot, motive structure, key metaphors and style of the novel. The parallels are suggested between Pelevin's idea of the place аnd function of the language аnd the twentieth-century language philosophy, as well as post-structuralist language concepts. 

The article examines the genres of “little folk-tale”, fable, anecdote, as the most characteristic semantic-stylistic forms of the ironic statement used by R.V. lvanov-Razumnik п his open аnd indirect polemical writings in the pages of Zavety magazine (1912—1914), aiming аt elucidating the speech identity о! the critic. 

The article deals with the strategies of creating a unique computerprocessed textual body of Russian dialect speech. The author also considers the principles of marking dialect texts. 

The article treats the age changes in the psychological meaning of words as a natural phenomenon. Four types of such changes are distinguished. Both mass associative experiments and longitude study of associative fields of individuals give evidence of gradual convergence of the associative verbal net of schoolchildren with the associative verbal net of adult speakers. 

With increasing differentiation in current students’ speech culture, we face a need to develop tests that would not only show the level of students’ knowledge of the Russian language norms, but classify the type of speech culture he/she belongs to. The article offers the theoretical basis and certain models for such tests. 

Based on newspaper materials, the article shows that with a certain level of communication and speech competence, a journalist can use аnd the various tools provided by the Russian language to reach any, even the most difficult, goal.