No 4 (2023)
LINGUISTICS
Religious Terminology in Russian Sign Language
Abstract
The article describes the religious vocabulary in Russian Sign Language (RSL). It shows that the effects of visual modality in sign languages, namely iconicity and the use of space, are clearly expressed in RSL religious terms. There is also a clear tendency to distribute the mechanisms of direct iconic representation, visual metonymy, and metaphor to different subgroups of the lexemes studied. Material objects such as priestly vestments and ecclesiastical paraphernalia are primarily described by direct iconic representation. In contrast, religious rituals, denominations, holidays, and some religious and mythological figures are primarily described by visual metonymy, where a sign is based on an iconic representation of one of its visually perceived attributes. The signs whose meaning is in some way related to the concept of spirituality are mainly based on visual metaphor. The influence of the surrounding Russian spoken language is also clearly felt in the religious vocabulary of the RSL. There are different types of borrowings: fingerspelled lexemes, lexicalized fingerspelled lexemes, initialized signs, and replication. A large number of borrowings can be explained both by the complexity of the meanings expressed and by the constant use of sacred texts written in spoken Russian in this domain. At the same time, the article shows the differences between RSL and spoken Russian in the division of the religious semantic domain. Some terms for which there are several words in spoken Russian, differing in subtle nuances of meaning or contexts of use, are expressed with the same sign in RSL. On the other hand, some meanings in RSL are more differentiated than spoken Russian when a Russian word corresponds to several signs that differ in more subtle nuances of meaning or contexts of use.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):9-22
9-22
Implementation of Comparative Features in Comparative Tropes with Dendronyms in Modern Udmurt
Abstract
This paper deals with the identification of the comparative features used for dendronyms in the structure of comparative tropes in modern Udmurt. Based on the analysis of linguistic material from the electronic corpus of the Udmurt language, the semantic meanings of stereotypical comparative images containing the “names of trees” were outlined, and stable semantic connotations of dendronyms were revealed. According to the study’s results, the lexeme badyar ‘maple’ has the broadest semantic meanings; overall, most tree names express single semantic connotations. When considering the semantic features of comparative tropes with dendronyms, the following groups of comparative features were found to form a significant part of the linguistic and conceptual picture of the world of the native Udmurt speaker: (a) Ideas about a person’s appearance, physique, growth and development, health, physical features: Тазалыкез тыпы кадь юн «His health is as strong as an oak tree»; Вож бадяр кадь мугорыз лабрес беризьлы укшаны ӧдъяз «His body, which resembled a green maple, became like a spreading linden tree»; b) Ideas about a person as a representative of society, as a bearer of social functions: Мар со лыктэм нылмурт бордад сирпу кадь лякиське? «Why does this guest girl stick to you like an elm tree?»; c) According to the analysis of the collected material, comparative constructions with dendronyms are rarely used to represent the idea of a person’s character and moral qualities. At the same time, other groups of phytonyms are much more common in this group of comparative constructions: Сямыз ӟег нянь но тӥни. Literal translation: «By nature, it is rye bread (type)»; Небӟем губи тон, Аркаш. Ас кышнодэ но кияд кутэмед уг луы «You’re like a rotten mushroom, Arkady (soft-hearted). You can’t even handle your wife». From the analysis of comparative tropes, which contain tree names in their structure, it can be concluded that this vocabulary group has an important axiological status, reflecting centuries-old life experiences and observations of the surrounding nature.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):23-33
23-33
Regional Toponymic Dictionary: Methodological Principles of Compilation (the Case of the Dictionary of Toponyms of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia): Settlements)
Abstract
The article describes the experience of compiling the dictionary of toponyms of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia): Settlements, which contains 562 lexical entries. The relevance of the work arises from the activation of toponymic research in the region and the need to document its toponymic system in this historical period. The scope of the toponymic material determines the novelty of the work, the depth of the analysis, and the extent of the linguistic and extra-linguistic problems solved in the collection of the linguistic material and the compilation of the lexical entries. The requirements for the preparation of toponymic dictionaries are analyzed, the difficulties in compiling lexical entries are pointed out, and possible solutions are suggested. In preparing the materials for the dictionary, there were a number of problems that were solved in the course of the study: it was proposed to combine the repeated names of settlements into one lexical entry indicating the location of each settlement; the official modern Russian language name is chosen as the introductory word and is connected in parentheses with the Yakut name, with the spelling and graphic design (especially if there are options) determined in accordance with the requirement of unification of names of geographical features from the federal law of the Russian Federation; the lexical entries contain all currently available information on the origin of the oikonym, the source language and ethnographic information as reference material; an administrative-territorial characteristic of the geographical feature is given to indicate the location. Perspectives are given for collecting and analyzing the material for further work on the revised and corrected edition of the dictionary; reasons are given for the need to document accent norms in the dictionary, as well as for the inclusion of information on other territorial and communal names in the new dictionary: territories, rural settlements, regions and districts, and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):34-44
34-44
Structural and Semantic Analysis of Common and Generalized Food Names in the Selkup Language
Abstract
The article presents a comprehensive study of the vocabulary of common and generalized food names in the Selkup language, which has not yet been the subject of a linguistic description. The study made it possible to identify and systematize common or generalized food names, clarify the period of their formation, carry out a morphosyntactic analysis of the lexemes, examine their word formation activity, determine the capacity for semantic derivation, determine the internal form of complex and compound lexical units, to identify common and generalized food names and their derivatives, to analyze sentence expressions with the component denoting a common and generalized food name, to carry out a contextual analysis of common and generalized food names on the material of household texts. The author used research methods such as descriptive analysis, comparative historical analysis, component analysis, and quantitative analysis. Selkup language dictionaries served as sources for the Selkup language. The work of leading linguists on the etymology, phonetics, and grammar of the Selkup language enabled us to carry out a comprehensive analysis. As a result of the research carried out, it was found that the common and generalized names of food in the Selkup language go back to the verb stem *ǝm- ‘to eat’ from the common Samoyed period of formation. Twenty-six dialect variants of common and generalized food names were identified in the modern Selkup language. They have different morphosyntactic structures: simple non-derivatives (10), simple derivatives (14), and compound names (2). The lexemes studied have a polysemy based on metonymic transference. Nouns (9) and compound names (13) are also formed from the stem *ǝm- ‘eat,’ which denotes objects and phenomena directly or indirectly related to food. Most nouns are represented by simple derived lexemes (7), but one complex word and one word formed by transformation have been identified. Compound names can be bipartite (11) or tripartite (2), consisting of an adjective or adverb and a noun.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):45-54
45-54
Gender and Age Designations of Small Livestock in the Languages of Altai, Khakass, and Mongolia
Abstract
The article analyzes the system of livestock vocabulary, i.e., the gender and age designations of small livestock, based on the material of the Altai language and its dialects in comparison with a similar system of other Siberian and Mongolian Turkic languages. All available dictionaries for these languages, as well as expedition materials collected by the author during an expedition to places of compact residence of native speakers of the Altai language in 2022–2023, served as material for the study. The analysis of the livestock as mentioned above terms for the gender and age designations of small livestock using the example of sheep shows that many terms are common in Turkic; there are differences at the morphophonological level; there is a semantic shift in the terms denoting the age of small livestock; borrowings from Mongolian languages, all this is explained by spatial proximity. The Turkic peoples of Siberia are considered to be classic nomadic cattle breeders who raise the most important types of livestock: Horses, cows, sheep, goats, and camels. The Turks of Siberia have always been in close contact with the Mongols, and some peoples, such as the Tuvans and the Altai, have been part of the Mongolian state for many years. The Tuvinians and the Tofalars have lived and continue to live in constant contact with Mongolian-speaking tribes, which has inevitably left traces in the livestock vocabulary of these peoples. Lexical dialectisms and linguistic peculiarities occur during the historical development of the individual peoples. Of the lexemes studied, five are not listed in the available dictionaries of the Altai language; these lexemes come from the active vocabulary of the native speakers..
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):55-64
55-64
Chaining Reciprocal in Russian Sign Language
Abstract
The paper examines classifier constructions to express chaining reciprocals in Russian Sign Language. Typological studies of reciprocity show that the chaining reciprocal can be mediated by markers of prototypical reciprocal meaning or by special markers. As a visual modality language, Russian Sign Language has unique and iconic means of expressing reciprocal meaning. Studies on reciprocity in sign language show that classifier constructions are used to describe chaining situations. Classifiers are morphologically complex signs that some researchers consider to be a mixture of signs and gestures. It is, therefore, to be expected that the chaining reciprocal semantics in sign languages can be described in a more iconic and complex way than in spoken languages. The results of this study, which was carried out using corpus data and elicited data, show that three types of classifier constructions are used in Russian sign language for spatial chaining situations: They represent the process of forming a chain of objects, the presence of the chain and the movement of the chain. 19% of the sentences contain two types of classifier constructions that always occur in a specific order. These three classifier constructions can be applied to at least 15 classifier handshapes. Not all parameters of these classifier constructions are equally mandatory and important. The mandatory elements of these constructions are the position and function of the dominant and non-dominant hand and the movement of the trajectory from the beginning to the end of the chain. In addition, the wholeness of the discontinuity of the chain can be expressed by reduplication. The secondary movement and orientation are very iconic and depend on the characteristics of the situation. The use of these parameters to describe the characteristics of objects and their placement and movement varies greatly between informants, which can be explained by the fact that these parameters are closer to the gesture than to the linguistic element of the classification construction.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):65-75
65-75
ANTHROPOLOGY
The Duck in the Mythological Views of the Buryats
Abstract
Studying the symbolic complex of wild fauna as part of the general worldview of the peoples of Russia is one of the critical tasks of Russian ethnography. In order to solve this problem, fundamental studies of the material of individual ethnic groups (Russians, Veps) have been carried out. In this regard, it remains relevant to conduct further research on this topic, including the culture of other peoples. One of the central ornithomorphic images in the traditional worldview of many peoples of Eurasia is the image of the duck, which is due to its extensive habitat and the utilitarian value it has as an object of meat hunting. This image is ambiguous and characterized by an ambivalent meaning. This topic has not yet been explored in Buryat ethnography. This article is dedicated to the image of the duck in the mythological imagination of the Buryats. The work is based on folkloristic, linguistic, and ethnographic sources. The main method used in the work is the structural-semiotic method, which makes it possible to determine the symbolism reflecting the ideas about the duck. This waterfowl did not belong to the category of sacred, totemic animals, and the Buryats did not avoid its meat. It is pointed out that of the two Buryat duck names – hono and nugahan – the latter is the bird’s generic name and has a common Mongolian origin. It is emphasized that the image of the duck in Buryat mythology is polysemantic and ambiguous. According to traditional Buryat belief, the duck symbolizes the female principle. This water bird was associated with two spheres of life – the sky and the water - and served as a mediator between them. Its image was inscribed in the Buryats’ cosmogonic ideas about the world’s creation. In mythology and folklore, the duck was ascribed to a therapeutic function. The idea of a person turning into a duck is associated with a duck (turpan). The motif of the transformation of the soul of the deceased into a duck has also been passed down. In the folk symbolism of the Buryats, the duck has a negative connotation.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):76-83
76-83
Perspectives for the Archeological Exploration of the Right-Bank Tributaries of the River Keth (using the Example of the Orlovka River)
Abstract
The archeological work of A.P. Dulzon in the catchment area of the river Ket from 1952 onwards has lost no scientific relevance to this day. He paved the way for many decades for historical and cultural studies in the Ket River region. To date, the Ket River has been insufficiently explored from an archeological perspective. Its tributaries on the right bank, which are characterized by a considerable length, remain a “blank spot” on the map of the Tomsk region, as they are difficult to access. In 2020, archeologists organized an exploratory expedition to the Orlovka River, one of the largest tributaries of the right bank of the river Ket. This watercourse has been wellknown to Russians since the 17th century. It is mentioned by travelers and explorers and is recorded in early cartographic materials. In the 1930s, an Evenki nomadic village council was established in its catchment area, which practiced a nomadic farming lifestyle until the 1980s. The main task of the reconnaissance in 2020 was to verify the information of the local population about the presence of archeological sites in the middle and upper reaches of the Orlovka River. Two large settlement complexes were discovered based on the work results. One was located on the banks of the Tura River, the other – at the mouth of the Vtoraya Rechka river. The latter complex includes a fortified settlement with a circular defense system. The dating question of these monuments has not yet been clarified. Random finds from the settlement on the Vtoraya Rechka river indicate that one of the periods in which it was in operation was the late Middle Ages and possibly the modern period. According to written sources, this fragment of the Ket River region was inhabited by the population of the Ostyak Pitkin volost in the 17th to 19th centuries. Most likely, the operation of the settlement complex during this period can be associated with this population group. The results of the 2020 reconnaissance indicate the archeological potential of the right bank of the Ket River and the need to conduct targeted field studies here.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):84-94
84-94
The Transformation of the Folklore and Ritual Traditions of the Nenets and Khanty of Lake Numto in the First Quarter of the XXI Century
Abstract
About 1.5 thousand forest Nenets live in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug–Yugra (KhMAO-Yugra). This ethnic group includes smaller local groups with their own dialect and traditions. As they have mixed with the neighboring Khanty, who outnumber them and with whom they now have much in common culturally, they have retained their ethnic self-consciousness and parts of their worldview. In March 2023, the author traveled to the village of Numto, located on the shores of the lake of the same name - one of the most revered sacred sites of the indigenous peoples of Yugra and Yamal and the area where there is close interethnic interaction between the Forest-Nenets and the Kazym-Khanty. The collected data testify to the active existence of folk traditions in this area and provide an opportunity to observe their changes, especially in the sacred sphere, which has a relatively conservative character. The folkloric materials are based on various legends about the origin of this “heavenly, divine” lake and its sacred island. The mobility of the folkloristic representations is due to the variable character of folk art. The author’s field notes and those already recorded by other researchers were used for the study, making it possible to trace the variability of the legends about Numto. Interesting is the sequence of transformations from the second half of the 20th century to the present day, the folk tale about the sacrifice of young men on the sacred island, which testifies to the smoothing of interethnic contradictions between the intermarried groups: the Numtov-Nenets and the Kazym-Khanty. Their cultural rapprochement was also facilitated by the cult of the Kazym goddess, whom both groups worship. In the Numto area, the sacrificial ritual plays an important role, performed by the locals and representatives of other Nenets and Khanty ethnic groups who come to pray at the local shrines. At present, the ban on visiting the sacred island has been somewhat relaxed and even lifted for Nenets and Khanty women who are related to the Nenets. The reason for this is that they have been assigned one of the tasks when butchering a sacrificial deer. Among the Kazym-Khanty, the taboo on visiting the sacred island, which used to apply to everyone regardless of gender, has also lost its force. In the cultural symbiosis between the Khanty and the Nenets under consideration here, the changes in the traditions of the Nenets are the most conspicuous, while they are more hidden in the culture of the Kazym-Khanty.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):95-102
95-102
Documentary Reconstruction of the Kyzlasov Family Tree
Abstract
The article deals with the documentary reconstruction of the family tree of the famous Khakass archeologist and historian Leonid Romanovich Kyzlasov (1924–2007), whose centenary will be celebrated in the Republic of Khakassia in 2024. The seok (an ethnic lineage) of the Kyzlasovs is called “tag-kharga” and formed the Ulus Dalnekarga of the Steppe Duma of the united heterogeneous tribes in the 19th century. Although there are oral traditions about the origin of the Kyzlasovs, the genealogical information, which is based on historical sources such as church records, censuses, and name lists, has not yet been scientifically verified. The object of the study is the biological family tree of L. R. Kyzlasov, and the subject is the archival and documentary reconstruction of its patrilineal part. The source base of the research was the collections of such archives as the State Archive of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the National Archive of the Republic of Khakassia, the Archive in Minusinsk, the Manuscript Fund of the Khakassian Research Institute of Language, Literature and History and the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. For the first time, unique archival documents on the genealogy of the Kyzlasovs are brought into the scientific discourse: according to the Ust-Yes Evdokim Church, a metrical record of 1897 on the birth/baptism of R. A. Kyzlasov, information from the last three censuses of the Dalnekarga genus of the Sagai Steppe Duma for 1832, 1850 and 1858, as well as the facts of the baptism of representatives of the genus in 1854. In the course of genealogical research, an examination of the Kyzlasovs’ family tree schemes was carried out, which were drawn up by several informants based on oral traditions and written documents. The critical analysis of these genealogical materials shows that their information potential requires careful scientific examination, including archival primary sources. The further study of the Kyzlasov family tree will be devoted to the complex genetic and genealogical verification of the data by testing the DNA of the Y chromosome of modern male representatives of the genus. In this way, it will be possible to determine the haplogroup of Kyzlasovs (a genetic genus) and, consequently, to deepen the phylogenetic line of seok “tag-kharga” for thousands of years with the assignment of a family branch on the universal human family tree.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):103-114
103-114
A Rare Photo (Ket Photos and Film Chronicles)
Abstract
The article is dedicated to the visual record of the traditional culture of the Kets, one of the numerically small peoples of the Krasnoyarsk region. The history of drawings (using the example of an illustration from the book by I. G. Georgi) and photographic records of the Kets is considered, beginning with the expeditions of V. I. Anuchin (1905–1909) and F. Nansen (1913) and ending with the expeditions of A. P. Dulzon (1950s–1960s); references are given to the holdings in archives and online collections of museums where photo collections are kept. Fifteen films and videos about the Kets, shot between 1978 and 2021 and found in open sources and archives, are described and analyzed from the perspective of visual anthropology. The filming locations, the first and last names of the Ket language speakers who appear on screen, the video and audio sequence of the films, the characteristics of the direction, and the author’s position on the prospects of the development (or extinction) of the Ket language and traditional Ket culture as a whole are analyzed. The author’s video footage taken during his expeditions to the Ket in 2004–2005 is also considered. All the films examined are presented in a table that includes the year of release, the date, the name of the directors and the name of the studio that produced the film, the language (Russian, Ket), and a link to the film or its trailer or synopsis in open sources on the Internet. The author concludes that the Ket culture has maintained its representation on screen despite its relative neglect by filmmakers compared to neighboring peoples (Nenets, Evenks, and Selkups). The conclusion is that the photographic and video records devoted to the Ket language and culture need to be further studied from the perspective of visual anthropology, including data from the informants’ personal photo and video archives. The article may be of interest to ethnologists, folklorists, and specialists in visual anthropology.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):115-126
115-126
Küeldshut – The Heroic Tales of the Selkups: Narrative Features and Central Plot Points
Abstract
This article is devoted to the analysis of eleven folklore Selkup texts, four of which can actually be called heroic tales. They were recorded in the middle of the XIX century (1845) by the linguist M. A. Castren in the Middle Ob; another text from the XIX century was recorded in the 1870s by N. P. Grigorovsky. In the course of the study, the main plot scheme was revealed, in which the main motifs are courtship or bride kidnapping by a hero, the hunt for the hero by her brothers and former grooms, and fights between the heroes. The other six texts analyzed are from the twentieth century and also show a similar plot development, but their recording is more concise, and the plot is laid out as a “short retelling”. In the course of the study, the difference in motifs between the texts was noted, and several plot variations were identified in which form this plot exists – a ‘male’ version where the main character is a male hero and a ‘female’ version where the plot revolves around a bride who is courted or abducted by a hero (but then the woman is the main character as the narrative focuses on her and begins from her perspective). There is also a significant difference in the use of narrative within the text.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):127-148
127-148
REVIEWS
Modern Scientific Research of the Scientific School of Linguistics Founded by A. P. Dulzon: Results and Prospects
Abstract
The article examines the directions of scientific research of the Tomsk Linguistic School founded by A. P. Dulzon from 2017 to 2023, describes the results of scientific, supervisory, and pedagogical activities aimed at studying the languages of the autochthonous ethnic minorities of Siberia, and outlines the prospects for further scientific research. During this period, three dissertations were written and defended for the degree of candidate of philological sciences, three annotated folklore and everyday prose texts in the languages of the Ob Yenisei region were published, including material on the Selkup, Ket, Chulym-Turkic, Teleut, Khanty and ChulymTurkic languages, four monographs on the Selkup and Chulym-Turkic languages and four research projects were carried out. At present, the Khanty, Selkup, Chulym-Turkic, Ket, and Teleut languages are being researched with the help of modern achievements in linguistics, folklore, and other related sciences.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):149-158
149-158
“Dulzon Readings Conference”: History and Modernity
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(4):159-162
159-162