Toponyms of Finno-Ugric origin with the finals -l’a, -(e)l’ in the territory of Tambov Oblast
English
journal number:
Journal’s Subject Headings:
Philology
About author:
Yu. Yu. Gordova Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, [email protected]
E. M. Devyatkina Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, [email protected]
V. I. Melnik Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the article considers geographical names of the modern Tambov Oblast, which by their structural and semantic features, and above all the presence of regular final elements, can be attributed to the toponymy of Finno- Ugric origin. The identification of such names is carried out in connection with the creation of regional toponymic atlases demonstrating the distribution zones of toponyms of various linguistic affiliation.
Objective: analysis of toponymy of Finno-Ugric origin in the territory of Tambov Oblast.
Research materials: a catalog of toponyms of Tambov Oblast, field materials recorded on the territory of Tambov Oblast.
Results and novelty of the research: the study revealed 13 geographical names (primary and derived), which relate mainly to rural settlements and small water bodies. The area of toponyms is located on the right bank of the Kashma River; the “splashes” of the area are in the Vorona River basin. It is assumed that the finales -la, -(e)l in one group of toponyms are variants of topoformants -laj, -lej, going back to the Mordovian appellatives l’ɛj, l’äj ‘river’, ‘ravine’. In another group, they may be part of appellatives of Baltic origin. The method of combining toponymic, geographical and archaeological areas has confirmed that the location area of the toponyms in the Tambov region partially correlates with the areas of Gorodets and Proto-Mordovian cultures and the southeastern part of the landscape of Tsninsky area of the northern forest steppe. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time a group of Tambov toponyms with finales -la, -(e)l has been comprehensively described; its area in the region has been identified; a comparison with the areas of archaeological cultures and geographical zones has been carried out.
Key words: Tambov toponymy, toponyms with finales -la, -(e)l, etymology of toponyms, Mordvian toponymy, Baltic toponymy, comparison of toponymic and archaeological data, Finno-Ugric population.
Acknowledgements: the research was carried out with the financial support of the RFBR as part of a scientific project, project № 20-012-00196 “Toponymic Atlas of Tambov Oblast”.
For citation: Gordova Yu. Yu., Devyatkina E. M., Melnik V. I. Toponyms of Finno-Ugric origin with the finals -l’a, -(e)l’ in the territory of Tambov Oblast // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2021; 11 (4): 632–640.
E. M. Devyatkina Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, [email protected]
V. I. Melnik Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the article considers geographical names of the modern Tambov Oblast, which by their structural and semantic features, and above all the presence of regular final elements, can be attributed to the toponymy of Finno- Ugric origin. The identification of such names is carried out in connection with the creation of regional toponymic atlases demonstrating the distribution zones of toponyms of various linguistic affiliation.
Objective: analysis of toponymy of Finno-Ugric origin in the territory of Tambov Oblast.
Research materials: a catalog of toponyms of Tambov Oblast, field materials recorded on the territory of Tambov Oblast.
Results and novelty of the research: the study revealed 13 geographical names (primary and derived), which relate mainly to rural settlements and small water bodies. The area of toponyms is located on the right bank of the Kashma River; the “splashes” of the area are in the Vorona River basin. It is assumed that the finales -la, -(e)l in one group of toponyms are variants of topoformants -laj, -lej, going back to the Mordovian appellatives l’ɛj, l’äj ‘river’, ‘ravine’. In another group, they may be part of appellatives of Baltic origin. The method of combining toponymic, geographical and archaeological areas has confirmed that the location area of the toponyms in the Tambov region partially correlates with the areas of Gorodets and Proto-Mordovian cultures and the southeastern part of the landscape of Tsninsky area of the northern forest steppe. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time a group of Tambov toponyms with finales -la, -(e)l has been comprehensively described; its area in the region has been identified; a comparison with the areas of archaeological cultures and geographical zones has been carried out.
Key words: Tambov toponymy, toponyms with finales -la, -(e)l, etymology of toponyms, Mordvian toponymy, Baltic toponymy, comparison of toponymic and archaeological data, Finno-Ugric population.
Acknowledgements: the research was carried out with the financial support of the RFBR as part of a scientific project, project № 20-012-00196 “Toponymic Atlas of Tambov Oblast”.
For citation: Gordova Yu. Yu., Devyatkina E. M., Melnik V. I. Toponyms of Finno-Ugric origin with the finals -l’a, -(e)l’ in the territory of Tambov Oblast // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2021; 11 (4): 632–640.
