Russian Linguistic Bulletin (Dec 2020)
PRINCIPLES OF NOMENCLATURE OF THE MEDICINAL PLANTS GROWING IN THE VILYUY GROUP OF DISTRICTS OF YAKUTIA
Abstract
The article explores the nomenclature of medicinal plants growing in the Vilyuy group of regions (вилюйская группа районов) of Yakutia. The relevance of the study is tied to the fact that as a result of socioeconomic and cultural transformations in Yakutia, the methods of traditional medicine of the region have undergone significant changes. A number of traditional features, including the names of medicinal plants associated with healing, are at a risk of disappearing in the coming years and may be lost to science if they are not documented in time. In the Yakut language, the study of naming animals is of particular importance, since this lexical layer has not been comprehensively studied. It is also important that by studying the principles of naming medicinal plants, it is possible to identify the fragments of knowledge and the linguistic picture of the world of the Yakut people; to show that the identified language microsystem is one of the components of the ethnic mentality, culture, tradition and life of the Sakha people. The purpose of this article is to analyze the principles of naming and systematize the component composition of medicinal plant nomenclature (pharmacophytonims) of the Vilyuy group of districts of Yakutia. The study uses the materials from various language dictionaries, the records of personal communication between authors and native speakers as well as specialized botanical literature in the Russian and Yakut languages. The research establishes that the main principle in naming plants in the Yakut language is the use of names that reference the region's fauna, including the functional features of plants. They form one of the oldest naming systems, which reflects the experience of practical, cultural and mythological development of the flora of Yakutia and the spiritual world of its peoples, their culture, traditions and life.
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