Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology

The article presents the scientific distribution and analyzes the system of geographical names of the toponymic space of the Erzya-Mordovian village of Novy Maklaush in the Klyavlinsky district of the Samara region. This toponymic system has not yet been the subject of special research, which determines the relevance of the present work. The article identifies the main features of this toponymic space as a typical toponymic system of the Klyavlinsky Mordva, its peculiarities, as well as similarities with the toponymy of other Erzya-Mordovian villages of the Samara-Volga region and neighboring regions. The work is based on materials obtained by the author during field research in the village of Novy Maklaush in October 2019. For the comparative analysis, data on the toponymy of various Erzya-Mordovian villages of the Samara-Volga region and other areas of the Mordvinian settlement obtained during our expeditions in 2015–2023 are used. As a result of our research, we have found that the toponymic space of the village of Novy Maklaush has convincing parallels in other toponymic spaces of the Klyavlinsky Mordva in terms of clusters of geographical terms, individual toponymic unit markers and their semantics. Significant similarities can also be found with the toponymic spaces of other Erzya-Mordovian groups of the Samara-Volga region and neighboring areas. There were no significant differences between the toponymic space of the Novy Maklaush and other toponymic spaces of the Erzya-Mordovians of the Klyavlinsky district. The name Uksada, which belongs to a small river, a tributary of the Sok River, can be assigned to the substrate layer of this toponymic space. However, the author of this study believes that the name Uksada also originates from the Erzya-Mordovan language, where the lexeme Ukso – elm in this meaning is still preserved in some dialects of the Erzya-Mordovan language of the Shentala district. However, in the Klyavlinsky dialect of ErzyaMordovian, the Erzya-Mordovian word itself has since been replaced by a Russian borrowing. The research presented here will interest specialists in the field of onomastics of Mordovian languages, Finno-Ugric linguistics, regional history, and amateur local historians.

This article deals with the etymology of the most common verbs in the Mari (meadow) language. Since there are no ready-made lists of this kind in scientific and pedagogical sources, it was necessary to compile one. This task was accomplished with the help of corpora data. The list of the 100 most frequent verb stems in Mari was compiled based on the most extensive online corpus of the standard Mari language – “Mari Meadow Texts” on the Korp platform in two versions: 1) the full corpus (57.38 million tokens) and 2) its two sub-corpora – fiction and non-fiction (7.1 million tokens). These lists are 90% similar. The etymologies of Mari verbs were compiled according to the best etymological dictionaries by K. Rédei, G. Bereczki, and M. Räsänen. For the 100 most frequent verbs, the ratio of indigenous Finno-Ugric vocabulary to loanwords from Chuvash, Tatar, and Russian was determined. The vocabulary of Uralic and Finno-Ugric origin make up the largest share – from 56–59% (for roots and stems) to 69–70% (for tokens). Original Mari words and words with unclear etymology – 14–22%, loanwords from Turkic languages – 15–22%. There are more Chuvash borrowings than Tatar. Among the loanwords from Turkic, mental verbs predominate, indicating the Turkic world’s significant cultural and humanitarian influence on the Finno-Ugrics (Mari). Among the 100 most frequent verbs in the Mari language, there is only one verb of Russian origin - šotlaš ‘to count.’ However, it is possible that this word entered the Mari language via Chuvash, as Chuvash has šutla ‘to count.’ This study’s results confirm that verbs in a language are more resistant to borrowing than nouns. The compiled top 100 most frequent Mari verbs can be used for linguistic research and teaching and learning the Mari language.

The article offers a lexical analysis of the Tuvan names of tortures known in Tuvan history as тос эрии ‘nine tortures.’ Тос эрии refers to the period of Manchu Chinese rule, the time of the Qin dynasty in Tuva and Mongolia (XVIII to early XX century). However, their rule in Tuva was exercised by local rulers, who, in turn, were subordinate to the Mongols. Historical data indicate that the Chinese administration ruled Mongolia and Tuva according to a specially created document, “The Code of the Chinese Chamber of Foreign Relations.” According to the norms contained in it, about 40 types of torture were developed for investigative measures. Of these, nine were applied in Tuva and Mongolia. Hence, the Tuvan and Mongolian names for torture – tuv. тос эрии / эрээ and mong. есөн эрүү ‘nine tortures’. The article shows for the first time the structural and semantic features of the semantics of the names of the ‘nine tortures’ in the Tuvan language compared with the Mongolian language. The Tuvan and Mongolian sources show that there are certain discrepancies in listing the types of torture in different works. The analysis of the material allowed us to identify seven matches in the names of the ‘nine tortures.’ In the three cases described, there are complete structural and semantic correspondences in the names – tuv. шаагайтаары / mong. шаахайдах ‘to strike the Shaagai in the face,’ 2) tuv. маңзылаары / mong. банздах or чавчирга ‘to hit the hips with a board,’ 3) tuv. кулузуннар кадаары / mong. хулсан хадаас ‘to drive a sharp thin splinter under the nails.’ In these cases, we are dealing with direct borrowings from the Mongolian language. The other four parallels are semantic equivalents in which the same type of torture is denoted in Tuvan and Mongolian with different lexical means: in Tuvan, mainly with descriptive phrases, in Mongolian with special lexemes (tuv. ооргага хаг кыпсыры ‘to light tinder on the back’ / mong. төөнүүр ‘to light the tinder on the back,’ tuv. хаак-биле кагар / mong. туйван ‘to beat with thin branches of a willow or other tree,’ tuv. ийи холунуң улуг-эргээнден азар / mong. дүүжин ‘to hang by the thumbs,’ tuv. саактаары / mong. хавчуур ‘squeeze the shins of men and the hands of women with a vice’). A linguistic study of the ‘nine tortures’ names has shown a clear Mongolian influence. This group’s Tuvan vocabulary arose through direct borrowings from the Mongolian language and through the descriptive transfer of the meanings of Mongolian lexemes. The latter could indicate a relatively lower prevalence (or frequency of use) of types of torture. The comparative method, the component analysis method, and the descriptive method were used in the study. Data from Tuvan and Mongolian dictionaries, scholarly works on Tuvan history, ethnography, and legal history, as well as works by Mongolian researchers who have studied the Mongolian есөн эрүү ‘nine tortures’ from a historical perspective, were used as research material. The illustrative material was taken from works of Tuvan fiction and ethnographic descriptions

The relevance of this study arises from the need to examine dialectal phytonymic vocabulary from a functional-semantic point of view. The scientific novelty demonstrates the functional potential of the investigated category of the dialectal vocabulary of the Tatar language. The phytonymic vocabulary was analyzed with regard to its composition and origin, the relationship between dialectal and literary vocabulary with a close interweaving of synchronic and diachronic methods, and the functioning of the individual lexical units in the dialects and the spoken language of the Siberian Tatars. To comprehensively analyze the functioning of phytonymic vocabulary in the article, the following linguistic methods were used: The main method was the descriptive-analytical method, which includes a number of linguistic observations, systematization, generalization, interpretation, and typologization techniques. In addition, comparative-historical and comparative methods are applied. Elements of etymological analysis are also used to determine the origin of the word and rule out the possibility of misinterpretation. The systematization of the lexical units in the work is based on the biological classification of the plant world. The classification of plants according to life forms into trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants is traced. Phytonyms denoting edible plants, garden and fruit crops, cereals, vegetables, cucurbits, and fungi are emphasized separately. The origin of phytonyms is identified in the article. When analyzing the lexical units, different types of dictionaries were used, which make it possible to determine the origin and the correct interpretation of the lexemes: “Etymological Dictionary of Tatar Language” (2015), “Dictionary of Siberian-Tatar Dialects” (1992), “ArabicRussian Dictionary” (1989), “Arabic-Tatar-Russian Dictionary of Borrowings” (1993), “Tatar-Russian-Latin Dictionary of Plant Names” (2002), “Tatar-Russian Explanatory Dictionary of Phytonyms” (2020). The study’s theoretical basis is the work of linguists who deal with the linguistic peculiarities of the Siberian Tatars and the phytonymic vocabulary of the Tatar language. The analysis considers synonymy and variability within a separate lexical-thematic group from the perspective of modern division into literary and dialectal units; the features of the functioning of phytonymic vocabulary in the modern Tatar language and its dialects, especially in the dialects of the Siberian Tatars, and the use of plants in the material and spiritual culture of the Siberian Tatars are identified. As a result of the study, it is found that the composition of the dialectal phytonymic lexicon differs in its uniqueness and has its own peculiarity, which undergoes transformation and semantic changes in the course of evolution. It has been established that the phytonymic lexicon of Siberian Tatars is genetically heterogeneous: two main layers can be distinguished – the Indigenous Turkic-Tatar lexicon and borrowings (mostly of Arabic-Persian origin). It was found that the names of deciduous trees predominate in the phytonymic lexicon and that the phytonymic names denoting the taxon ‘fungi’ are the least represented among the quantitative names.

This study used ethnographic data and folklore sources to reconstruct the bridegroom’s banya (bathhouse) in the context of the Karelian wedding tradition. The study is necessitated by the lack of knowledge on the subject and the public’s constant interest in folk culture. Some elements of the wedding ritual are often used and redefined in modern ceremonies. The article aims to analyze the actional and verbal aspects of the bridegroom’s banya ritual in the temporal and spatial context, reconstruct the ritual, and present its functions. The study’s novelty lies in the fact that its results will contribute to uncovering new information about the wedding rituals of the Karelians. The study is of practical importance as its results can be used for educational and cultural work in Karelia. Methodologically, the reconstruction of the groom’s banya ritual is based on the systems approach, supported by the comparative historical method, the structural semiotic method, and holistic text analysis. The theoretical background for the study was provided by the works of international and Russian scholars, particularly the fundamental works of J. Surhasko, N. Krinichnaya, A. Stepanova, and L. Ivanova. The material for the analysis was ethnographic descriptions and folklore sources, especially wedding songs recorded by various local groups of Karelians. The earliest texts date from the late 19th century, while Karelian scholars recorded later versions in the first half of the 20th century. These sources have been published in a number of foreign and domestic anthologies. The analysis revealed that the bridegroom’s banya fulfilled the apotropaic and initiatory functions within the ritual and served as a place for the social status change of one of the most important participants of the ritual.

For the Buryats, the concept of the motherland is not abstract but filled with concrete content, the main components of which are the natural elements of the ancestral territory: an ancestral mountain, a river or lake, fields and meadows, forests, individual groves, trees, and stones. These objects also include springs. The relevance of the work arises from the insufficient research into the cult of water in the Buryat tradition in general and mineral springs in particular. The aim of the article is to examine the features of the existence of the water cult and the place of mineral springs in the tradition of the Cis-Baikal Buryats living north of Lake Baikal. The study’s objectives included examining the image of water sources, their status, and their functions in the tradition of the CisBaikal Buryats. The sources of the study were historical and ethnographic, folklore materials, and materials from the author’s field research. A comparative historical method was used in the study, which helps identify commonalities in understanding and appreciating natural phenomena in the culture of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples. The study suggests that the Cis-Baikal Buryats retained ideas about “living” water – the water of some springs and lakes was associated with it. However, the cult of healing springs, the Arshans, did not develop in the CisBaikal Buryat tradition for several reasons: 1. The generic status of a water source, which determines the relevance of ideas about the territorial boundaries of the effectiveness of its therapeutic effect. 2. Spring water acquired magical healing properties in the process of ritual transformation with the active participation of a shaman. Such water could cure any disease. In this regard, the classification of mineral springs according to their medicinal properties may not have been relevant. 3. Moreover, in Transbaikalia, much of the work on the popularization of arshans, including their discovery and the determination of the medicinal properties of water, was done by the Buddhist church, whose influence did not extend to Cis-Baikal

The article examines the multifaceted scientific legacy of Andrei Petrovich Dulzon (1900–1973), Doctor of Philology, professor, outstanding linguist, ethnographer and archaeologist, founder of the Tomsk school of field linguistics. His contribution to the study of the history, languages and cultures of the peoples of Siberia is analyzed, with a special emphasis on the relationship between linguistic, archaeological and ethnographic data. The importance of his expeditionary activities, the scientific school he created and the unique archival fund for modern scientific research is emphasized.