“Stone” Streets of Ekaterinburg

Abstract

The paper studies a group of Ekaterinburg street names associated with “stone craft”. These would include the names directly motivated by mineralogical vocabulary (Ametistovaya St., Rodonitovaya St.) or indirectly conveying the “stone” naming motif (Kamenotesov St., Bazhova St.). Street names of the Ural capital are considered from the standpoint of the formation of a local brand of the region, as markers of regional identity. The authors note that some street names motivated by gemmonyms refer to the designations of “gem-colored” (precious and semi-precious) stones mined in the Urals and commonly regarded as a kind of Ural “kite-mark” (Malakhitovaya St., Izumrudnaya St.). On the other hand, there are street names associated with the designations of minerals that are little known to the general public and, unlike the “Ural gems”, lack the evaluative connotations (Boksitovy lane, Slantsevaya St.). Among the street names implicitly referring to the “stone” theme are those dedicated to the memory of public figures in the field of “stone” sciences and arts (Academician Fersman St., Danily Zvereva St.), as well as collective titles-dedications to the people of mining professions (Geologists St., Starateley Lane). The authors conclude that the “stone”-related naming pattern is still productive today, particularly in the case of emerging districts or settlements where lot of streets should be named at once, and the variety of minerals simplifies the task. It also seems to be a fortunate case in which the naming pragmatics does not contradict the noble idea of popularizing the Ural minerals and the formation of local identity by means of creating new names for streets and other urban objects which are yet to be studied.

Keywords

• urban names
• street names
• naming theme
• name motivation
• local identity
• ekaterinburg