UDC

81+81’373.21+811.512.31

Authors

Igor’ A. Dambuev
Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences; ul. Sakh’yanovoy 6, Ulan-Ude, 670047, Respublika Buryatiya, Russian Federation;
e-mail: igor_dambuev@mail.ru

Abstract

This article describes typical Buryat toponymic stems in the modern toponymy of the Republic of Buryatia. The novelty of this paper consists in the use of statistical analysis to assess the frequency of toponymic stems in Buryat toponymy. Revealing toponymic stems is an essential part of any regional toponymic study contributing to further research into various aspects of toponymy. This paper used materials from the author’s catalogue of Buryat toponyms based on topographic maps, informants’ data, and the Russian catalogue of geographical names. The scope of the toponyms under study exceeds 13 thousand place names. Special onomastic methods were applied to detect toponymic stems whose meaning can be traced in either the Buryat or the Mongolian languages. Buryat toponymic stems that were identified in Buryat toponyms four or more times are listed in order of frequency of their use. Lexical meanings are provided for all the stems. The total number of toponymic stems presented in the paper is 273. The most abundant are words designating orographic and hydrographic objects, orientation in space, colours, size of geographical objects, types of soil and minerals, plants and animals, types of structures and nomad camps, as well as realia of Buddhism and Shamanism. The author observed an active use of somatisms designating orographic objects. This phenomenon can be explained by anthropomorphization of mountains and is typical of Mongolian peoples in general. The revealed toponymic stems objectively reflect the landscape of Buryatia, its flora and fauna, as well as traditional lifestyle and worldview of Mongolian peoples. Further research into the semantics of Buryat toponymic stems can focus on Buryat toponyms on territories adjacent to the Republic of Buryatia.

Keywords

Buryatia, Buryat language, Mongolian language, toponym, toponymic stem, somatism

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