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Abstract: This paper focuses on Northern Russian dialectal nicknames characterizing individual person’s speech. Overtalkativeness, tendency to jabbering or, on the contrary, quietness and tendency to speaking slowly have been selected from the verbal characteristics pool. The factual study material in the paper includes dialectal nicknames from Arkhangelsk, Vologda, and Kostroma regions recorded by the Toponymic Expedition of the Ural University. The study is aimed at identification of motivation for the nicknames selected for analysis; review of vocabulary groups that were derivative for the mentioned fragment of onomastic field of dialects. In her analysis, the author relies on the semantic and motivational reconstruction method and the word-building analysis. The analysis of nicknames showed that most of onyms are motivated by words denoting manner of speech (Bolt, compare to boltat’ (babble); Rúposa, compare to rúposit’ ‘speek quickly, jabber’), mainly onomatopoetic verbs (Bа́ lya, compare to balyа́ kat’ ‘talk, babble’; Barabókha from barabóshit’ ‘mumble inconsistently’ (Arkhangelsk region)). Words representing the idea of sounds not necessarily related to human speech have played an important role as well: verbs with various “sound” meanings (Shumíla; Lezgа́ ), object vocabulary (Bótal; Búben); zoological vocabulary (Voróna (Crow); Soróka (Magpie); Karа́ s (crucian carp)). Other motivational signs have also been identified: the “portrait” principle for nicknames creation is used, when the internal form of the nickname indicates character traits associated with talkativeness/quietness in the public mind (Yerúnya, compare to widely spread dialect е́ra ‘restless person; mischievous person’; Shíma from shíma ‘mild-tempered, quiet, unsociable person’, ‘evil spirits living in the house’ (Kostroma region) or contains precedent names/images (Yemе́lya; Gusа́ r). Names of various types of human activities may constitute the original vocabulary group from which nicknames are formed (Zamolókha, compare to molot’ (grind); Buzdýr’, compare to buzdýrit’ ‘to do something intensively’ (Vologda region)). Object images also appear among the nicknames selected for analysis (Pа́ khalka from pakhа́ lka ‘broom, broomstick’ (Arkhangelsk region); Vertolet). Onyms originating from mythological vocabulary have general evaluative meanings (Leshachónok; Babа́ ikha, related to bayat’).

About the author(s) :

Yana V. Malkova

Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin 

(Ekaterinburg, Russia)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3511-0878

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 15.07.2023; date of publication: 31.10.2023.

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