UDC

81ʼ373.21

Authors

Larisa V. Mikhaylova
Petrozavodsk State University; prosp. Lenina 33, Petrozavodsk, 185910, Russian Federation; e-mail: larisa.mihailova@gmail.com

Abstract

This article provides a description of the geocultural space of Valaam, the qualificatory signs of which are toponyms, including landscape terms, characteristics of objects, their location on the ground, description of flora and fauna in Karelian, Finnish and Russian. These are names with the following lexemes: beryoza (birch), listvennitsa (larch), ovyos (oat), rozh’ (rye), lisa (fox), zayats (hare) (Russian language); guba (bay), niemi (cape), repo / reboi (fox), ängeriäs (eel), hanhi (goose), mado (snake), koivu (birch), leppä / leppü (alder), honka / hongu (large pine-tree) (Karelian language); lampi (lake), saari (‘island), mäki (mountain), sipuli (onion), nauris (turnip), kaura (oat), sara (sedge) (Finnish language). Place names of the Valaam archipelago had been formed and developed over many centuries and depended on the changes in ethnic groups living on it. The islands were populated in several stages, each of which saw changes in the system of Valaam toponyms. As a result of a long historical development, changes in and interactions between the ethnic groups on Valaam there were formed two toponymic systems: the Baltic-Finnish and Russian. The Baltic-Finnish system is represented by Karelian and Finnish names. At certain stages of the archipelago’s population, the Baltic-Finnish toponymic system was replaced by the Russian system. Coexistence and interaction of the two systems can also be observed. To determine the geocultural space of Valaam, the author of this paper used the methods of information gathering, classification, as well as linguistic analysis of the names of geographical objects on the Valaam archipelago that were found during field research and in various sources. To sum up, toponyms of the Valaam archipelago include Karelian, Finnish and Russian names. Landscape toponyms are signs with lexemes of both Baltic-Finnish and Russian origin.

Keywords

Valaam archipelago, geocultural space of Valaam, landscape toponyms of Valaam, Russian landscape names of Valaam, Karelian landscape names of Valaam, Finnish landscape names of Valaam

References

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