Siberian Federal University

Issue

Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences. 2022 15 (3)

Authors

Zamorshchikova, Liudmila S.; Khokholova, Irena S.; Ikonnikova, Anna N.; Samsonova, Marianna V.; Lebedeva, Viktoria V.

Contact information

Zamorshchikova, Liudmila S.: M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University 58 Belinsky Str., Yakutsk, 677000, Russia; ; Khokholova, Irena S.: M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University 58 Belinsky Str., Yakutsk, 677000, Russia; ; Ikonnikova, Anna N.: M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University 58 Belinsky Str., Yakutsk, 677000, Russia; ; Samsonova, Marianna V.: M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University 58 Belinsky Str., Yakutsk, 677000, Russia; ; Lebedeva, Viktoria V.: M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University 58 Belinsky Str., Yakutsk, 677000, Russia;

Keywords

landscape; toponyms; territorial explorations; culture; etymology; ethnic and language contacts; history and origin of place names

Abstract

The article focuses on the attempts of reconstructing the process of exploration of Central Yakutia on the example of the Khangalassky region in different time periods and by various tribes. As a result, the etymological analysis of toponyms of the territory under research allowed to reveal several layers of ethnic impact, as well as traces left by different ethnic groups in the course of exploration of the territory. Modern geographical sciences (human geography in particular) demonstrate interest in the nature of relations between humans and environment, and the problems of landscape ontology as a source of a wide range of socio-humanistic knowledge. Moreover, the issues of etymology of toponyms in the Yakut language have not been studied thoroughly, although it is a factor that reveals layers of knowledge on the history of peoples who have established long-term contacts with one another; problem of language and culture of the peoples or tribes who have influenced the formation of the Yakut language on the one hand, and dialect characteristics within a single language on the other, in terms of naming the same geographical objects. The objective of the given research is to identify the etymological element of Yakutia’s toponyms in order to reconstruct the historical past of Central Yakutia’s exploration, and to determine the types of landscape’s identification by various ethnic groups in formation of toponyms. The leading method in analyzing the given problem is a comparative method based on identification of the toponyms’ etymological component, as well as the method of statistical processing of the quantitative results of the analysis. More than 300 toponyms have been studied on the material of the toponymic base of Central Yakutia’s Khangalassky region. The etymology of toponyms is studied on the basis of dictionary definitions and the material provided by informants. The analysis resulted in identification of etymological components in Central Yakutia’s toponyms. The Khangalassky region was selected for the analysis of toponyms due to the historical factor in the first place. The Yakuts as an ethnic group had settled in the basin of Middle Lena, in the valleys of Erkeni and Samartai. The final formation of the Sakha people occurs as a result of the mixture of outsider Turkic tribes with local paleoasiatic family groups, as well as with outsider Mongol-speaking Khori and Tungus tribes. The etymological and semantic components of toponyms show, that the toponymy of the Khangalassky region is marked by the most ancient layer in Yakutia’s toponymic formation. The toponyms of the Khangalassky region have been greatly influenced by the Lena river, as well as adjacent rivers and creeks the names of which could be found in the Evenki, the Mongol, and the Turkic linguistic and cultural layers. In the toponymic formation based on the Yakut language one can observe a layer of Mongol toponyms which had appeared before the Turkic toponymic layer. Traces of Tungus-Manchurian tribes of the earliest layer could still be found among the names of small rivers and creeks, since the tribes had been wandering in order to hunt while using large objects as landmarks. The Russian etymological layer is considered to be the most recent one, connected with the territorial exploration by Russian explorers and farmers who settled on the territory of the Khangalassky region, and the post tract which linked the Yakut region to the Russian Empire during the reign of Peter I and Catherine II. The analysis shows the gradual nature of toponymic formation in relation to the landscape. It allows systematizing the origins of toponyms in both historical and linguistic contexts. Materials presented in the article could also be of use for linguists, historians, cultural study specialists, and geographers

Pages

359-370

DOI

10.17516/1997-1370-0363

Paper at repository of SibFU

https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/109338

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).