Вопросы ономастики (Nov 2019)
Onomastic Representation of the Otherworld in Russian Popular Language and Culture
Abstract
The article attempts to render a speculative image of the otherworld as represented in Russian onomastic material. The concept itself refers to an imagined metaphysical reality in which most important locations and characters are specified by proper names. The study deals with proper names that suggest references to death and the related notions (metaphorical names of death, cemeteries, topographic objects, and creatures of the otherworld). A particular focus is made on name constituents of dialectal phraseological units in the vernacular of the Kama River area (field materials collected from 2003 to 2018 in the southern and northern parts of the Perm Region). These onymic components are regarded as linguocultural concepts reflecting believers’ worldview and attitude to existence. The semantic analysis of set phrases is carried out against the background of general Russian dialectology, with occasional references to the context of folk traditions of the Kama Region (texts of visions, dreams, and loose retellings of Biblical plots). The study illustrates that proper names add to the clarity and consistency of the afterlife image. In its onomastic reflection, the otherworld is more similar to the real world other than a hostile and dangerous demonic space. The analysis of semantic properties and cultural connotations of the personal and place names under study reveals that, in popular understanding, the otherworld is inseparable from the earthly life. This verbal representation of the otherworld, on the one hand, testifies to the archaic state of worldview with no division into real and imaginary and, on the other hand, serves as a form of psychological adaptation to the problem of life’s ending. The findings of the study may contribute to further research on the cognitive and virtual aspects of onomastics.
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