Names of Boats Derived from Toponyms and Ethnonyms in the Russian Dialects of the Arkhangelsk Region

Abstract

The article deals with the names of different kinds of boats attested in Arkhangelsk region, more precisely, it focuses on the names derived from toponyms and ethnonyms. The author shows that these naming patterns are widespread in different regions of Russia and constitute a set of stable semantic models which were particularly active in the past, when shipbuilding relied mainly on local traditions. In Arkhangelsk dialects the detoponymic model is attested in the names dvinsky karbas, kholmogorsky karbas, selyanka, soyanka and schelyanka, four of those names having derived from the names of local centers of shipbuilding and one (dvinsky karbas) — from a river name. The second model (derivation from ethnomyms) is represented, in Arkhangelsk dialects, by two names — zyryanka and komyachka — related to the ethnonyms Zyrian and Komi. Both derivatives are attested in the North-East of the region and testify to cultural and language contacts between Russians and the Komi people in that area. Based on lexicographic and ethnographic materials, the author analyses deonymic names of boats in general, describing the main features of boats relevant for dialect speakers (steadiness, speed, maneuverability, capacity to pass over shoals).

Keywords

• Russian language
• Arkhangelsk dialects
• Arkhangelsk region
• dialectal names of boats
• place name derivatives
• ethnonymic derivatives
• appellativization of a proper name
• onomasiological analysis
• semasiological analysis
• semantic model