The application of field theory to describe water-landscape vocabulary in the Khakas language

Nature, and especially water resources, play a huge role in the lives of indigenous peoples who rely on natural environments for their sustenance. Water is an integral part of the culture and traditions of the Khakas people, and the names of various types of water, defining their purpose, are passed down from generation to generation. This article explores the use of field structure theory to analyze the lexical group of water-landscape terms in the Khakass language. The main principles of field structure theories are discussed, such as the core and periphery positions in the field. The article also examines the experience of using the theory of grammatical and lexical fields in the works of E.V. Gulyga, A.V. Bondarko, lexical typology of V.Yu. Apresyan and E.V. Rakhilina. The main focus is on the analysis of hydro-landscape vocabulary, which belongs to an important layer of vocabulary in any language. The study is conducted on the material of the Khakass language and includes an analysis of lexemes denoting water bodies found in electronic and printed dictionaries and in Khakass heroic epics “Ay-khuuchin” and “Altyn Aryg”. The study also examines the origin and use of various lexemes to denote rivers (such as sug, us / uus, talay) in the Khakass language. The analysis of linguistic material allowed to construct the lexical-semantic field of hydrolandscape vocabulary of the Khakass language. At the core is the archilexeme sug meaning ‘water, river’. The nearcore zone consists of simple words denoting constant typical water bodies (talay ‘large river’, kōl ‘lake’, etc.). The near periphery includes complex and compound lexical units expressing the meaning of “permanent water bodies” (ylbañ sas ‘swamp’, ylbañ chir ‘marshy place, swamp’, etc.). The far periphery is composed of lexemes denoting temporary water bodies, including those created by humans (salbykh ‘puddle’, arǵaǯakh ‘ditch, small channel’, etc.). The results of the study help to better understand the structure and relationships between lexical units of waterlandscape theme and apply the acquired knowledge for further lexicological research.

lexical-semantic field, core, near-core zone, near and distant periphery, Khakas language, waterlandscape vocabulary