Вопросы ономастики (Jun 2014)
On the History of Lexicographic Treatment of Chrononyms
Abstract
The article focuses on the development of Russian chrononymic lexicography from the 19th century to the present. The author reveals specific features of lexicographic treatment of chrononyms in explanatory and dialect dictionaries, points to some shortcomings of the presentation of chrononyms in general dictionaries such as vagueness of inventory, ununified structure of definitions, lack of examples, inconsistency in the presentation of systemic relations within chrononymic systems. The author pays close attention to the lexicographic treatment of chrononyms in dictionaries of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods and, in particular, to the lexicography of calendar names in specialized chrononymic dictionaries of the last decade. It is shown in the paper that chrononymic dictionaries mostly have ethnolinguistic emphasis explained by the fact that they include dialectal names, folklore illustrations and examples. They often consist of two parts: an explanatory part and an ideographic part, the former presenting chrononyms in alphabetical order and interpreting their linguistic features, and the latter grouping calendar names according to their calendar value (in chronological order of the named dates). The author also explains the lexicographic principles of multiterritorial and regional chrononymic dictionaries.
