Journal archive

Abstract: The article deals with the role of personal names in the representation of the marginal world, and specifically factory outlaws, by D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. The choice of the characters is caused by the author’s special interest in this socio-historical reality of the Urals, and it determined the choice of the texts for analysis. The scope of research covers the semantics of the name and the nickname, their interaction and the variability of their contextual combination. Analyzing the correlation between the personalities of the characters and the meanings of their names, it is necessary to take into account the socio-cultural approach of Mamin-Sibiryak to the creation of his characters proceeding from external conditions and historical and territorial belonging. Popular interpretation of the name and the nickname is most important for the author, and the anthroponym acts as a means of representation of the connection between the name and the culture. It has been found that the characters of outlaws are depicted by Mamin-Sibiryak through appealing to the Christian meaning of the name and the comparison of the life of the character under analysis with the life of their namesake saint. The etymological meaning of the name is correlated with the nickname; the study takes into account the morphological from of the word and the technique of creating the imagery of the name based on acoustic impression. Proceeding from such a comprehensive analysis of the name or the nickname of the character, one can identify the semantic component of the anthroponyms and their role in the formation of the conceptual layout of the text. As a result of the study, the author reveals a system of authored techniques, used to portray the world of the outlaws in his works (sketches and short stories) and creates a generalized character of a popular outlaw, who contradicts the reader’s stereotypical representation of such a character. An essential function in this case belongs to the anthroponymic unity of the name and the nickname in the text.