No 2 (2025)
LINGUISTICS
Morphological Guesser as a Tool for Analyzing Field Data: Experiences with The Naukan Yupik Language
Abstract
The paper presents the development and evaluation of two automated morphological analysis tools for Naukan Yupik (Yupik Eskimo Eskimo-Aleut): a dictionary-based morphological analyzer and a dictionary-free morphological guesser. Both tools are implemented with a two-stage approach to morphological modeling based on finite state automata. The study examines in detail the morphological features of Naukan Yupik that influence the development of automated analysis tools, including rich inflection and derivation, homonymy of morphological markers, and complex morphophonological processes. The effectiveness of both tools will be evaluated using a corpus of oral texts from 2022–2023. Particular attention is paid to the problem of overgeneration in the output of the morphological guesser and to ways of solving this problem through part-of-speech-based analysis separation. The results show that when working with field data, the use of a guesser can be more effective despite its known limitations.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):9-19
9-19
Names of Meat Dishes in The Turkic Languages of the Ural-Volga Region in Lexico-Semantic and Comparative-Historical Aspects
Abstract
This article is devoted to the study of lexemes used to denote meat and traditional meat dishes among the Turkic peoples of the Ural-Volga region from a lexical-semantic and comparative-historical point of view. The Bashkir, Tatar, and Chuvash languages, the languages of the Turkic peoples living in this region, were used as study languages. The names of meat and meat products, which function in the languages of two different subgroups (Tatar and Bashkir – the Kypchak subgroup, Chuvash – the Bulgar subgroup), but of a single linguogeographical community, are subjected to a comprehensive analysis for the first time in Turkological science, which determines the relevance of the chosen topic. The research material is based on ethnographic and linguistic studies, in which one can find information about the national dishes of the peoples of the Ural-Volga region and the vocabulary of their traditional food. This article deals with the names of the most popular traditional meat dishes: boiled meat, meat broth, meat soup, beshbarmak (meat with noodles), kazy (horse meat sausage), tultyrma (liver sausage). The study has shown that the functioning of the names of meat and meat dishes is due to the characteristics of the genetic connections of the Turkic languages of the Ural-Volga region: while some names are common to all the languages studied, others show variability, namely in Chuvash, which belongs to the Bulgar subgroup, there are mainly names of meat and meat dishes that differ from the languages of the Kypchak subgroup. Of all the names examined, only one original Turkic lexeme is common to all Turkic languages of the Ural-Volga region (Bashk. tultyrma, Tat. tutyrma, Chuv. tultarmăsh
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):20-29
20-29
Cultural Metaphors in the Folk Songs of the Trans-Vyatka Udmurts
Abstract
This article deals with the study of cultural metaphors in the Udmurt language within the framework of cultural linguistics. The study aims to examine and analyze the cultural metaphors of the Udmurt language, especially those related to the concepts of river and forest/black forest. The study corpus consists of folk songs of the Udmurt diaspora living in the present-day Republic of Tatarstan and Mari El and in the Kirov region of Russia beyond the Vyatka River. The choice of this corpus is explained by the fact that folklore texts have a high linguistic and cultural potential. These texts are regarded as cultural codes that contain philosophical, ethnocultural, and psychological elements and reflect the collective experience of the people. The study’s relevance lies in the fact that the conceptual analysis of metaphors and schemata in Udmurt song folklore has not yet been investigated. As a result of the study, the following cultural metaphors were identified: River as suffering, river crossing as overcoming life difficulties, river as longing/grief, river as border/underworld, river as loss of youth, narrow riverbed as life difficulties, black forest as suffering, black forest as unknown/uncertainty, black forest as loneliness, black forest as border/underworld, and black forest as life difficulties. These conceptualizations are most frequently found in Udmurt wedding and guest songs as well as in songs dedicated to the farewell of brides and soldiers. The analysis of cultural conceptualizations has shown that different target domains can interpret the same source domain of a cultural metaphor. Conversely, different source domains can express one and the same target domain. The paper also attempts to show the connection between the emotional schemata of shyness and shame and the metaphorical models based on them, which represent the specific relationship between “man and nature” in Udmurt culture.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):30-41
30-41
Historical-Etymological Analysis of the Names and Surnames of Some Bashkir Elder Steers (Based on the Manuscript “Lexicon, or Topographical Dictionary of the Orenburg Province” by P.I. Rychkov)
Abstract
In this article, a historical, etymological, and structural analysis of the first and last names of some Bashkir elders was carried out based on the manuscript work of P. Rychkov, “Lexicon or topographical dictionary of the Orenburg province.” The dictionary is estimated to contain the first and last names of 24 foremen. The article aimed not to examine all anthroponyms but only those whose spelling and origin are doubtful. By studying historical documents, we found out that all the foremen, with the exception of Ashir Bokshurin, took part in the Peasants’ War of 1773–1774. The study revealed that the names and surnames of some Bashkir elders are recorded in historical sources in different phonetic versions. Based on facts from various historical documents and taking into account the patterns of the Bashkir language, the author was able to identify errors in the spelling of the abovementioned onyms. For example, it was established that the Amir Bokshurgin mentioned in the dictionary was, according to historical documents, of Kalmyk origin and not of Bashkir origin, as described in the work of A. Kamalova. It has also been proved that the spelling of the surname of Tarkhan Rasul Ettimasov is not in the form Itzheimasov, Etzhimmyasov, Idzhimyasov, as in some sources, but in the form Ettimasov, which goes back to a name formed based on an ancient belief. The relevance of this article lies in the fact that it contains anthroponyms that are included in the source of our research - the handwritten dictionary of P. Rychkov – and have been studied for the first time from historical, etymological, structural, and word-forming aspects.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):42-49
42-49
The Kumyk-Russian Bilingualism of Children from the Perspective of Schoolchildren and Their Parents. Linguistic and Ethnosocial Aspects
Abstract
The article presents the third phase of the study of the linguistic and ethnocultural situation of the TerekKumyks in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania using the example of the Terek-Kumyks of the village of Predgornoye. The choice of this group is due to their high residence (the Terek-Kumyks of Predgornoye village live in the Republic of North Ossetia), the linguistic identity of the Terek-Kumyks living in the village, while they are in constant cultural and linguistic interaction with representatives of other peoples of the village and the republic. In this work, attention was focused on analyzing the Russian-Kumyk bilingualism of the children according to the perceptions of the parents and the children themselves. Quantitative and qualitative sources were used for the study. The team of authors carried out the study in several stages. A survey of children and adults was conducted in August 2023, followed by a survey of school-age children only in February 2024. An in-depth interview with a teacher of the Kumyk language at the school in Predgornoye was used as an additional ethnological source. The article presents the questionnaire results in the form of ‘violin diagrams’ reflecting the indices of the dominance of the use of the Russian or Kumyk language. The researchers compared the data from the first and second questionnaires and the perception of the existence of the Kumyk and Russian languages among the schoolchildren from the perspective of the children themselves and their parents. To clarify the questionnaire material on bilingualism, the children were asked four questions about the observance of Kumyk/Russian holidays and knowledge of folklore. The interview with the Kumyk language teacher enabled us to supplement and partially revise some of the questionnaire data. As a result, the study revealed that there is a twofold situation. On the one hand, the children rate their knowledge of the Kumyk language higher than their parents and, above all, their teacher at school. On the other hand, the adults note that although the children use Kumyk to communicate with each other (during breaks, in the yard, etc.), they have great difficulty when they read literary texts in Kumyk or write their own works. This means that the knowledge of the Kumyk language seems to be exclusively of an everyday nature; the children have a minimum of oral communication. At the same time, they read literature and watch visual contexts, mainly in Russian.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):50-66
50-66
Khakass-Mongolian Vocabulary-Correspondence of Kinship Terms
Abstract
The article is devoted to identifying and describing Khakass-Mongolian lexical correspondences in the field of marital kinship terms. In contrast to kinship terms, the main feature of the content of these terms is “foreignness.” However, since the family is the most valuable mini-society in the traditional perception of Turks and Mongolians, the representatives of marital kinship are conceptualized as ‘their own.’ We conducted a synchroniccomparative and lexical-semantic analysis of six terms of marital kinship. In the analysis, structural-semantic features and the standard and special properties of these terms were identified in each studied language, and their characterological and etymological information was presented. Based on the definition analysis of the dictionary entries, lexical parallels with a completely matching semantic structure / with an incompletely matching semantic structure were identified. A distinctive feature of this vocabulary layer is the branching and overlapping of its meanings (polysemy) and polyfunctionality, which reflects the ethnic uniqueness of people’s mentality, the activity of interaction between the members of an extended family, as well as the transformation processes of family interactions of the members of a mini-community. Although a considerable number of studies deal with kinship terms in the Turkic-Mongolian speech community, a comparative analysis of specifically Khakass-Mongolian material has not yet been conducted. The relevance of our study lies in closing this gap. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the presentation of the occurrence of these terms in these languages, the identification of common and distinct properties, and the identification of cases of semantic syncretism. The work uses descriptive, comparative-typological, lexical-semantic, and definitional methods. The theoretical and methodological basis for the study is the work of famous linguists – typologists: V. Rassadin, A. Burykin, A. Shcherbak, B. Tatarintsev, A. Dybo, N. Dyrenkova, and others. The material for the analysis was collected from bilingual and etymological lexicographical sources. To illustrate the semantic features of some related terms, examples from popular texts and fiction of the Khakass are given. Our study’s results can substantiate the comparative data on the cognates of the Turkic-Mongolian language community.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):67-75
67-75
Articulatory and Acoustic Characteristics of [R] Sounds in the Plautdietsch
Abstract
This article aims to investigate the [r]-sounds of the Plautdietsch language using experimental phonetic methods. We used distributional analysis, acoustic analysis, and magnetic resonance imaging to describe the articulatory and acoustic properties of these phonemes in the language of Mennonite Germans in Siberia. The article analyzes the sounds of the [r] type in the German-Mennonite Plautdietsch language spoken in the Novosibirsk region. In Russian phonetics, the sound [r] is classified as a sonorous sound in which the voice plays a significant role, and noises are either absent or minimal. In the European tradition, this sound is called a ‘trill’ consonant. During pronunciation, the tongue opens rhythmically, allowing air to flow freely through it, and then closes again, causing the vocal cords to vibrate. The nature and classification of this sound raises a number of questions: whether the sound [r] in Plautdietsch is to be interpreted as a sonorous sound or rather as a low-noise sound (in all positions, it is realized as a sonorous sound, but under certain positional and combinatory conditions it manifests itself as noisy); whether it is a vibrating or momentary sound; whether its articulation is accompanied by epenthesis or prosthesis. The study uses material collected from respondents in Neudachino, Novosibirsk Region. For the first time, an analysis of the consonant structure of the Mennonite language in Siberia, in particular the sound [r], was carried out using experimental phonetic methods. A synchronic description was carried out with the help of acoustic analysis. In order to isolate the composition of [r] type phonemes, a distributive analysis was carried out, and somatic methods of experimental phonetics were used to describe acoustic and articulatory features. It was found that the sounds of this type are represented by two phonemes – /r/ and /rб/.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):76-90
76-90
Differential Object Marking in Modern Ossetic: Referential Properties and Animacy
Abstract
This article deals with the phenomenon of Differential Object marking in Iron Ossetic. We consider the main factors underlying the choice of DO marking and the animate and referential properties of DOs. In terms of animacy, we show that the basic opposition is that of human vs. non-human animates (while non-animate only marginally takes the genitive, as shown in the literature on Ossetic). Lexical classes of non-human animate, such as animals vs. insects vs. birds vs. amphibians, are irrelevant for DO marking. Some specific lexemes show behavior characteristic of other lexical classes: the lexeme šəvɜllon ‘child’ submits to the DOM rules for non-humans, and the lexeme foš ‘livestock’ behaves like a non-animate, i.e., it rarely takes the genitive in DO position. The nouns denoting groups of people (škond ‘staff,’ k’laš ‘school class’) also behave like non-animate persons. The reference types are subject to different restrictions for human and non-human animates. For human animates, genitive marking is obligatory for reference types that presuppose the existence of the referent in the listener’s mind (from the speaker’s point of view), either concrete (definite) or abstract (e.g., attributive). The nominative is just as possible for other reference types as the genitive. The marking of non-human animate DOs is described using a scale of the relative frequency of the genitive and the nominative: DOs with negative polarity > definite specific/non-specific (attributive) DOs > negative free DOs > indefinite specific known generic DOs > indefinite specific unknown and non-specific DOs
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):91-107
91-107
ANTHROPOLOGY
The Archeological Investigation of the Yakut Ground Burials (XIII–XIX Century): Results and Perspectives
Abstract
The burial monuments of the Yakuts (Sakha) of the Middle Ages and modern times are represented by socalled arangas, as well as above-ground and inhumation burials. This paper offers a historiographical overview of the studies on the Yakut burials of the XIIIth to XIXth centuries, which includes the analysis of the collected data and the insights gained based on their interpretation. This work makes it possible to describe the existing source base, systematize the results of previous studies, define key areas for further research, and suggest approaches to resolving disputes. As a result of analyzing the available sources and scholarly works, three main phases of research on Yakut burials were identified. The first phase (1888–1940s) can be characterized as a period of initial accumulation of factual material associated with the need to replenish the object fund of the Yakutsk Regional Museum. Archaeological research had a clearly defined regional focus. From the second phase (1950s–1990s), research began to pursue a comprehensive approach under the direction of professional archaeologists and ethnographers. An extensive source base became the basis for the study of various aspects of traditional culture, ethnogenesis, and the early phases of Yakut ethnic history, as well as for the reconstruction of elements of burial rites. In the third phase (2000s), a comprehensive interdisciplinary investigation of the funerary monuments began with a broad application of scientific methods. The correlation of burial and settlement monuments of the early Yakut archaeological Kulun-Atakh culture of the Yakuts from the 10th to 16th centuries makes it possible to correct the existing hypotheses about the origin and ethnic history of the Yakuts and the analysis of burial materials from the 17th to 19th centuries updates the reconstruction of traditional models of their material and spiritual culture, worldview and social structure. The study uses comparative-historical, historical-typological, historical-systemic, and retrospective-chronological methods.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):108-119
108-119
Life and Activities of Poles in Tobolsk in the 60s of the XIX Century in Archival Documents
Abstract
The history of large and small diasporas living on the territory of Russia is part of the country’s history. The article deals with the life and activities of Poles in exile who came to Western Siberia in the 60s of the 19th century and settled there. Particular attention was paid to the characteristics of the Poles who settled in Tobolsk, the capital of Siberia. Identifying the role of exiled Poles in the economic and socio-cultural activities of the city determines the relevance of the study of the material. The novelty of the research is that historical documents from the late 19th century, which are kept in the State Budgetary Educational Institution “State Archives in Tobolsk,” were included in the solution of this question. Documents from funds No. 329 of the Tobolsk Provincial Administration and No. 359 of the Tobolsk Provincial Gendarmerie Administration were analyzed, containing information about Poles’ life and activities of Poles in Tobolsk during the period under study. The aim of the analysis of the archival material was to determine the characteristics of Poles living in Tobolsk in the 1960s and the contribution of Poles to the industrial and economic development of the city. The methodological basis of the scientific study was formed by the principles of the scientific approach to the archival text – systematics and historicism – according to which the historical text is considered a source of diverse, multi-layered information from the point of view of the unity of content and form. In the course of the analysis, it has become clear that the Poles’ contribution to the development of the city and its economic development was considerable. At the end of the 19th century, when a large proportion of the rebels of 1863 did not return to their homeland after an amnesty but stayed in Tobolsk permanently, a Polish diaspora began to form in the city. The Poles who were permitted to work became actively involved and developed science, education, healthcare, culture, and urban development. Documents show that the townspeople were well-disposed towards the Poles in exile, they received allowances and lived in freedom. They assimilated with the local population and left deep traces in distant Siberia: Together with the exiled Poles, their culture penetrated the city – works of art, music, books, and engravings, which had a fruitful influence on the activities of local craftsmen. The creation of an objective, holistic history of our country using the example of the development of its individual territories, such as the province of Tobolsk and the city of Tobolsk in particular, meets the needs of modern society and gives this research relevance
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):120-130
120-130
‘Sea Turtles’ and ‘Seaweed’: The Return of Chinese Graduates from Siberian Universities to Their Home Country
Abstract
Chinese graduates returning to China from Russian universities face a competitive job market, accompanied by criticism and expectations from families and society. Due to their collective annual return from foreign universities, Chinese graduates are labeled ‘sea turtles.’ The difficulties in finding a well-paid job and the problems in getting practical recognition for the efforts made during their stay abroad also discursively turn these young graduates into ‘sea turtles.’ The transition of Chinese graduates from university to working life, the complexity of finding a job in China’s ambiguous social and economic environment, and the role of universities in Siberia trying to attract international students are important epistemological issues. This article attempts to reconsider the symbolic value and practical recognition of international higher education in the Chinese labor market. A specific contemporary Chinese terminology about returning graduates is at the center of our attention. This social discourse shapes transnational education and labor markets. These issues are illuminated by ethnographic data collected by the author during his fieldwork with Chinese students in Tomsk and Irkutsk. The students and soon-tobe graduates were looking for a job in China, and as their career plans show, few would stay in Russia. These first-hand insights provide an opportunity to analyze the students’ reflexivity in relation to their employment practices from below. The internationalisation and diversification of education have created space for alternative study destinations such as Russia and new private-sector players with different interests in higher education. Chinese employers are becoming more demanding, while foreign university degrees are no longer exclusively a guarantee of career advancement.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):131-142
131-142
The Collection of Embroidery Products of the Southern Khanty in the Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (History of Origin and Study)
Abstract
The article deals with the formation of the collections of garments and their details, decorated with embroidery of the Southern Khanty with colored woolen threads, in the Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum (former Tobolsk Provincial Museum) at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. In addition, the results of the analytical work to identify the research stages for this collection were summarized and presented. The embroidery quality, the embroidery technique’s complexity, and the peculiarity of ornamental motifs and components allowed researchers to recognize these products as unique immediately. The authors of the article noted that the collection was built up quickly and completed in less than 30 years. The main method of completion was field collecting. Three main phases in the study of this collection were also identified – the beginning of the twentieth century (publications by V. Pignatti), the middle of the twentieth century (publications by S. Ivanov, T. Vakhter, N. Prytkova), and the turn of the XX and XXI centuries (publications by O. Ryndina and A. Bogordaeva). In essence, the researchers have tried to identify and classify the types of Southern Khanty embroidery techniques, the topography of ornamental complexes on the details of clothing, the cut-out of products, but most importantly, the structure and semantics of ornaments, focusing on the most frequently used ornamental elements and complexes (with an emphasis on ornamental motifs).
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):143-154
143-154
FOR THE SCIENTIST'S ANNIVERSARY
Unpublished Selkup Stories, as Recorded by A. Dulzon in 1962
Abstract
The article presents five of the fourteen archival Selkup stories recorded by A. Dulzon in 1962 during an expedition to the village of Novosondrovo, Kolpashevsky district, Tomsk oblast: ‘The soul of man flies to God,’ ‘Sparks fly from the chimney,’ ‘Something is burning in the hut,’ ‘I don’t know where it is burning,’ ‘Nobody has pity on me.’ The field materials are kept in the archive of the Department of Siberian Indigenous Languages at Tomsk State Pedagogical University. A. Dulzon’s informant was Maria Pavlovna Pedogina, a speaker of the Middle Ob dialect of the Selkup language. The stories reflect various aspects of the life of the Selkup ethnic group, as well as mythological notions and ideas about spiritual and material culture. The texts verbalize the oldest fragments of the Selkups’ linguistic worldview, such as the personification of fire and the worship of the earth. The story ‘The Human Soul Flies to God’ represents the Selkups’ beliefs and ideas about the body and the soul. The Selkup culture has a dual interpretation of the origin of life: 1) the origin of life from heaven (spiritual life – the soul), 2) the origin of life from the earth (material life – the body). Heaven is the abode of the deity who gives life by sending out the soul embryo with the rays of the sun, and this soul returns there after the end of earthly life. The stories ‘Sparks fly from the chimney’, ‘Something is burning in the hut,’ and ‘I don’t know where it’s burning’ objectify the personification of fire, describe prohibitions associated with fire, and verbalize the idea of controlled and uncontrolled burning. Fire needs nourishment to stay alive, and the process of burning itself can be seen as a constant fire-fest. The story ‘Nobody has pity on me’ reflects the image of the earth. The earth is personified and endowed with the capacity for compassion and empathy, and it is compared to a mother. The texts have not yet been published and analyzed; linguistic and cultural commentaries accompany them. The main purpose of this article is to publish archived Selkup materials that are of great value to the scholarly community.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):155-163
155-163
The Contribution of Andrey P. Dulzon to the Study of the Yeniseian Languages
Abstract
The article deals with the contribution of A. Dulzon to the development of Yeniseian linguistics. The first scientific works on the so-called Paleo-Siberian languages, i.e., on the Yeniseian language family – including Ket, Yug, Kott, Assan, Arin, and Pumpokol – appeared in the 18th century. These studies were conducted by natural scientists, historians, and scholars such as I. Georgi, P. Pallas, G. Müller, I. Fischer, I. Gmelin, and D. Messerschmidt. M. Castrén was the author of the first grammar of the Kott and Ket languages: “Versuch einer JenisseiOstjakischen und kottischen Sprachlehre: nebst Wörterverzeichnissen aus den genannten Sprachen”. His work, which was published in 1958, was the only systematic scientific study of these languages for a long time. It was not until after the October Revolution in 1934 that a comprehensive description of the Ket language in Russian, written by N. Karger, appeared. The publications of A. Dulzon and E. Kreinovich marked a new stage in the history of Yeniseian language studies. Andrey P. Dulzon was awarded the USSR State Prize for his monograph, ‘The Ket Language,’ and both scholars and the state highly recognized his work. The significance of A. Dulzon’s work should be viewed from three perspectives: the collection of linguistic material on the Yeniseian languages (76 volumes of field notes, the Ket-Russian dictionary in card index format), publications and scientific research, primarily on the Ket and Yug languages (more than 30 scholarly treatises and 100 texts in Ket and Yug languages), and the training of highly qualified researchers – scientists who continued their studies in the field of Yeniseian linguistics (28 dissertations on Yeniseian languages defended by Dulzon’s students and their successors). It is important to emphasize the comprehensive approach taken by A. Dulzon in his work on the study of the Yeniseian languages. He regarded Yeniseian linguistics as an integral part of the broader topic of the origins of the Siberian indigenous peoples, which is reflected in the wide range of topics covered in his publications.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025;(2):164-171
164-171