UDC

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Abstract

This article is a result of the research into the semiotic cultural space of the Solovetsky Islands, consisting of geographical objects and their names. Having studied various sources, the author found a number of toponyms and united them into a toponymic system mostly comprised of Russian (including Pomor ones), Sami and Samoyed place names, those of Baltic Finnish origin and unknown (substrate) toponyms. Thus, it is possible to distinguish between several layers of Solovki toponyms depending on their period of origin. The first layer is formed by the oldest substrate toponyms that have lost their internal form and are incomprehensible to the modern Russian-language population. The author dwells on a few versions explaining their origin and suggests her own etymology of the following place names: Anzer (island); Zayatsky (island); Muksalma (islands, roadstead, reef, strait); Rebalda (island, cape) and others. The second layer is comprised of a small group of toponyms of Baltic Finnish origin, as well as Sami and Samoyed languages, which proves that these ancient tribes used to live on the Solovetsky Islands. The third layer consists of Russian toponyms, including Pomor ones; this is the largest group of Solovki place names preserved to this day, with hydronyms being predominant: these are the names of numerous lakes, the majority of which are located on the largest Solovetsky Island. In Soviet times, some objects on the islands were given new names – these are microtoponyms that are still in the process of formation.

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References

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