Inanimate nature vocabulary of the Yakut language with a zoonymic component: structural and semantic ways of nomination

The article explores inanimate nature vocabulary in the Yakut language, specifically focusing on terms that incorporate zoonymic (animal-related) components. This study is highly relevant in the context of preserving linguistic heritage. While fragmentary research exists on certain categories of terms, such as meteorological, landscape, and hydrographic vocabulary, a systematic analysis of this lexicon remains lacking. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the inanimate nature vocabulary in Yakut, with a focus on zoonymic components, and to identify the structural and semantic patterns of word formation. To achieve this, the following tasks were undertaken: (1) collecting and systematizing lexical units related to inanimate nature in Yakut that include zoonymic elements, and (2) identifying the most productive structural and semantic models for forming compound words with zoonyms. The methodology included continuous sampling from lexicographic sources, cognitiveonomasiological analysis, and componential analysis. The findings reveal that the most productive structural model is the “noun + noun with a third-person possessive affix” pattern (50% of cases), as seen in examples like tulluk khaara (lit. “snow-bunting + snow-POSS.3SG”). The semantic models “zoonym + somatism” (26%) and “zoonym + landscape” (21%), which emphasize the role of visual analogies and connection with traditional economic activities are quantitatively prominent. It has been revealed that zoonyms are actively used in the Yakut language to nominate natural features of Yakutia, which reflects the northern component of Yakut culture. Thus, snow is metaphorized through images of fur-bearing animals (hare, fox) and birds (crow, snow-bunting), northern lights are associated through the zoonim balyk ‘fish’, and names of domestic (dog, cow, horse) and commercial (hare) animals are found in the nomination of bumpy terrain. These terms not only serve a nominative function but also encapsulate traditional ecological knowledge. The research underscores the importance of such lexicon in understanding the linguistic worldview of indigenous Arctic and Far Northern communities. Future research directions include a deeper investigation into the motivational features of inanimate nature lexicon in Yakut. The results contribute to the fields of Yakut lexicology and ethnolinguistics, enriching our understanding of the linguistic worldviews of Arctic and Subarctic peoples

1. Antonov NK. Materials on the historical lexicon of the Yakut language. Yakutsk: Yakutsk Book Publishing House; 1971:174 (in Russian).

2. Ivanov SA. Lexical features of dialects of the Yakut language. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 2017:392 (in Russian).

3. Danilova NI. Names of atmospheric phenomena in the Yakut language. Preservation and development of languages and cultures of Indigenous peoples of Siberia. Abakan: 2016;179-183 (in Russian).

4. Danilova NI. Names of wind varieties in Yakut language dictionaries. Issues of Humanities. 2015;80(5):49-52 (in Russian).

5. Danilova NI. Representation of cloud type names in Yakut language dictionaries. International Research Journal. 2015;42(11-4):15-17 (in Russian).

6. Danilova NI. Meteorological vocabulary in northern dialects of the Yakut language. Echo of the Arctic Odyssey. Yakutsk: 2019:201-207 (in Russian).

7. Sleptsov PA. On the Words kyuyokh, tangara, and Khallaan in the Yakut. Ural-Altaic Studies. 2009;1(1):92-95 (in Russian).

8. Dyachkovsky FN, Popov VG. Varieties of khaar ‘snow’ in the Yakut language. Contemporary problems of humanities and natural sciences. Moscow: 2015:46-53 (in Russian).

9. Danilova NI, Popova NI. Landscape vocabulary in the Yakut language. North-Eastern Journal of humanities. 2021;37(4):65-76 (in Russian).

10. Sorova IN, Neustroev KK. Somatisms in the geographical vocabulary of Yakut and Khakass languages. DOI: 10.25587/2782-662-2023-4-67-74 (in Russian).

11. Struchkova YaV. Anatomical vocabulary in the Yakut oronymy. Siberian Journal of Philology. 2024;(1):177-191 (in Russian).

12. Struchkova YaV. Yakut somatisms denoting elements of the elevated relief (in comparison with other Turkic languages). Vestnik of North-Eastern Federal University. 2023;20(2):87-98 (in Russian).

13. Chirkoeva DI, Grigorieva SV. Dialectisms denoting the names of rivers: a dictionary study. Altaistics. 2022;7(4):21-30 (in Russian).

14. Malysheva NV, Starostina YaE. Lexical-Semantic features of appellatives in Yakut and Mongolian languages. Baltic Humanitarian Journal. 2018;23(2):59-63 (in Russian).

15. Malysheva NV, Danilov IA. The Reflection of the Yakut Perception of the Animal World in the Process of Nominating Plants. Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology. 2022;21(9):78-88 (in Russian).

16. Osorova MA. Phytonyms with zoonymic component in Yakut and Khakass languages. Yakovlev Chuvash State Pedagogical University Bulletin. 2023;121(4):21-31. DOI 10.37972/chgpu.2023.121.4.003. EDN EWFKHB. (in Russian).

17. Dialectological Dictionary of the Yakut Language. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 1995:294 (in Russian).

18. Big explanatory dictionary of the Yakut language. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 2016:638 (in Russian).

19. Pekarsky EK. Dictionary of the Yakut Language. Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences Publishing House; 1959 (in Russian).

20. Stachowski M. Is the Yakut fox green? Or remarks on some colour names in Turkic, Uralic, and Yeniseic. Krakow: Jagiellonian University; 2010:10 (in English).

21. Khangalov MN. Collected Works: In 3 Vols. Volume 1. Ulan-Ude: Republic Printing House; 2004:508 (in Russian).

22. Sodnompilova MM, Nanzatov BZ. Zoomorphic Code in Ethnogenetic Context: Fox in Traditional Beliefs of Mongolian Peoples. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series: Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, Anthropology. 2016;15:48-63 (in Russian).

23. Dialectological dictionary of the Yakut language: contains over 8500 words. Moscow: Nauka; 1976:390 (in Russian).

24. Sleptsov PA. Big explanatory dictionary of the Yakut language: in 15 vol. Vol. 10: (Letter T). Novosibirsk: Nauka; 2013:574 (in Russian).

25. Seroshevsky VL. Yakuts. Experience of the ethnographic research. Moscow: ROSSPEN; 1993:744 (in Russian).

26. Big explanatory dictionary of the Yakut language: in 15 vol. Vol. 2: (Letter B). Novosibirsk: Nauka; 2005:910 (in Russian).

27. Big explanatory dictionary of the Yakut language: in 15 vol. Vol. 14. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 2017:591 (in Russian).

28. Big explanatory dictionary of the Yakut language: in 15 vol. Vol. 8: (Letter C). Novosibirsk: Nauka; 2011:572 (in Russian).

29. Sedalischev VT, Odnokurtsev VA. On the ecology of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes L. 1785) in Yakutia. Izvestia of Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2013;15(3-7):2218-2223. EDN SCLQEX (in Russian).

30. Levin GG. Selected scientific works. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 2021:139 (in Russian).

31. Burykin АА. On some names of wild animals in Turkic languages (to the etymology of isolated vocabulary and evolution of Turkic languages in the context of the Altaistic theory). Russian turcology. 2013;1(8):31-36 EDN XUONBB (in Russian).

32. Ubryatova EI. Studies on the syntax of the Yakut Language. Moscow: Leningrad: 1950:681 (in Russian).

33. Kurilova LG. The image of aurora polaris in the poetry by Uluro Ado. Philology. Theory & Practice. 2015;12(54):110-115 (in Russian).

34. Popov AA. Religious beliefs of Dolgans. St. Petersburg: MAE RAS; 2023:692 (in Russian).