Ethnolinguistic Analysis Of The Lexemes Denoting Clothes Objects (On The Epos "Dzhangar")*

Abstract

The article presents results of the study conducted in the framework of project No. 19-012-00531 “The vocabulary of the material culture of the Kalmyk language: experience of ethno-linguistic research”. The article discusses lexemes (хувцн, хувц-хунр, улв, девл, халвң), belonging to the thematic group “clothes”. They were identified on the material of the epic “Dzhangar”. Ethnolinguistic analysis of lexical units is carried out by various features (word compatibility, grammatical and accentological features of the word, dialectological features, etc.). The following ethno-linguistic patterns were revealed. Despite the fact that material culture is permeable and influenced by other cultures and progress, the epic language retains original Mongolian lexical elements. For example, in the language of the epic “Dzhangar”, two hyponyms “clothes” хувцн and хувц-хунр were found. These lexemes denote the totality of all types of clothing, including heroic vestment. The epos “Dzhangar” existed among Derbet, Torgut, Don Kalmyk-Buzava, therefore, depending on the localization of the narrative tradition, the language of the epos explicitly reflects dialect features of the ethnic group. For example, the Kalmyk literary (Derbet, Torgut) dentilabial в in the Buzavian dialect corresponds to the labial б in хобц-хонр ‘clothing’ binom (lit. хувц-хунр). The middle labial vowel о in the position before labial consonants м , в , б etc. was found in the Buzavsk dialect which makes it closer to the Derbet language. Due to ethnocultural contacts with other nations, the names of clothes were borrowed. The research material is 28 texts of recordings of the Kalmyk heroic epic “Dzhangar”...

Keywords: Kalmyk languageepic "Dzhangar"vocabularyclothingethnolinguistics

Introduction

In the modern anthropological paradigm of linguistic knowledge, language is studied in close connection with ethnoculture, and the person as a carrier of consciousness, language and culture is a focus of linguistics. Language, linguistic consciousness as a culture phenomenon, as a mirror of the spirit of the nation is the subject of research of one of the current trends in modern linguistics - ethnolinguistics.

Problem Statement

If culture is defined as a system of values ​​that characterize a nation, in this system, language occupies a central place culture has internal and external parameters that determine national specificity. Thus, the phenomena of the material culture (clothing, shoes, hats, architecture, household items and household goods, etc.) must be attributed to the external parameters (attributes) of the national culture. These parameters are historically variable, since material culture is permeable and influenced by other cultures and progress.

Research Questions

Folklore works, including the Kalmyk heroic epos “Dzhangar”, bear evidence of archaism, being a collection of traditions reflecting the ancient self-consciousness of the nomadic people. It reflects the naive picture of the world, its categories, universals and specific features. Understanding of the epic text, practical mastering it is determined by the features of its lexical composition.

Purpose of the Study

The article aims to analyze lexical units denoting items of clothes on the material of the epic "Dzhangar". The article studies the etymology of words, meanings of lexical units reconstructed based on various features (word compatibility, grammatical and accentological features of the word, word structure, etc.). A lot of works dealt with these cultural units (Erdniev, 1970; Bakaeva, 2008, 2017a, 2017b). However, these lexemes have not been analyzed by linguists. The works by Bachaeva (2015), Pyurbeev (2015), and Mulaeva (2015, 2016) deal with the lexical units of the epos “Dzhangar”.

Research Methods

The research material is 28 texts of recordings of the Kalmyk heroic epic “Dzhangar” (The Kalmyk Folklore Collection is being created by the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It includes representative songs of the epos “Dzhangar”.) , which are combined into repertory cycles or are represented by separate songs: Maloderbet cycle (3 songs), Bagatsokhurov cycle (3 songs), Eelian Ovla's repertoire (10 songs, magtal), Mukebun Basangov (6 songs), Dawa Shavaliyev (4 songs, magtal), Nasanka Baldyrov (1 song), Badma Obushinov (1 song).

The automatic analysis of the corpus of the texts of the epic “Dzhangar” was carried out using the morphological analyzer “TextAnalyzer (Bembeev, Kukanova, & Kadzhiev, 2014). The automatic analysis of the texts helps deal with a large amount of information. Therefore, the contextological method is one of the main methods of analysis which establish typical consistency for each lexical unit. In addition, linguistic methods of analysis were used to identify features of the semantic definition in lexicographical sources, grammatical and accentological signs of the units. To identify and reconstruct the semantic meanings of lexical units, we used various lexicographical sources.

Findings

The composition of the thematic group of lexemes denoting clothes, types of shoes and hats found in the epos "Dzhangar" includes the following lexical elements:

1) clothing, the general term (hyperonym) хувцн (ховцн); хувцн-хунр ‘clothing’;

2) outerwear: девл 'fur coat', үч (outerwear with fur) дах doha (fur coat with fur outside) ', бииз ‘биизе dress) ', киилг ' shirt (undergarment, covering body), улв ‘улва (quilted, lined dress, worn under the armor) ', лүвц ( лувц, лүт ) armor (in the old days: military armor, protecting the chest and back; clothes of the warrior-warrior) ', шалвр ' pants, trousers'.

3) hats: махла a hat (warm, soft)’; халвң ‘khalvang’ (a hat of young married Kalmyk’); дуулх ‘helmet’;

4. shoes: һосн ‘boots’, башмг ‘boots’.

Let us start with the hypername хувцн ‘clothing’. This is a general term for things that a person puts on his body ( күн цогц бийдән өмсх, зүүх эдлл )” (Pyurbeev 1996). Mazarchuk (2017), who examined the use of this lexeme in modern Mongolian languages, notes that it is “universal for most Mongolian languages and dialects” and is a “native Mongolian word” (Introduction, par. 2).

This lexeme was found only in the repertoire of Eelyan Ovly:

<...> " Тавгинтн шүүснд күртҗ, / Көлстә ховцитн өмсҗ йовлав. /Эдү дүңгә үүлд / Би түрүлҗ һар күрнәв ! " гиһәд <...> (EO: V)‘

<...> Дәәни олн зүсн зер-зевән агсад, / Элдв сәәхн ховцан өмсәд… <...> (EO: V)

Since “Eelyan Ovla” was a representative of the Maloderbetan storytelling school, the use of the dialect lexeme ховцн , instead of the literary norm хувцн was found. The phonetic discrepancies of these dialects are described in works on the Kalmyk dialectology (Kichikov, 1963, 1969; Ubushaev, 1979). The presence of the middle labial vowel о in front of the labial consonants м , в, etc., corresponds to the Derbetan dialect. The different use of the rounded vowels о , у is one of the characteristic differential signs of the Kalmyk dialects. Kichikov (1963) calls the Torgut dialect a y-dialect, while the Derbet dialect – an o-dialect.

In addition to хувцн , the use of хувцн-хунр which means "clothing" was recorded in the texts of the epos. This lexeme was found in the repertoire of Dava Shavaliyev and in the song of Badma Obushinov. The art of Dzhangarchi from Yargachin-Erketenev aimag of Dava Shavaliev dates back to the epic tradition of the Torgut storytellers (Kichikov, 1997).

<…> Алдр богд Җаңһр / Аль-бис хувц-хунран үмсәд, / Әәрстин елдң товрцг маляһан / Атхад һарч ирәд... <…> (ШД: II) — ‘Glorious Bogda Dzhangar'.

The lexeme хувц-хунр ‘clothing’ is a set of all types of clothing worn by the hero before the march (underwear, military armor, etc.). As for the phonetic design of this lexeme, it reflects the dialectal features of the Torgut dialect.

The epos “Dzhangar” existed among the Derbet, Torgut, and Buzawa. In 1901, the collector of Kalmyk folklore I. I. Popov one chapter of “Dzhangar” “About Ulan Khongore” (Ubushiyeva, 2011).

<…> Хоңһр тер кебтән босад, / Хот-хоолан ууһад, / Хобц-хонран өмсәд, / Хош-хораһан һанзһлад, / Мордад һардг болна <…> ; (ОB: I)

<…> Хоңһр тер кебтән босад, / Хот-хоолан ууһад, / Хобц-хонран өмсәд, / Хош-хораһан һанзһлад, / Мордад һардг болна <…> ; (ОB: I)’.

Academician Vladimirtsov (1989) considers the Don Kalmyk language as a sub-dialect of the Kalmyk language, along with Derbet, Torghut and Brebrat. Kichikov (1967) considers it as a sub-dialect of the Derbet dialect of the Kalmyk language. Meanwhile, the Buzavian dialect differs from the literary language and other dialects of the Kalmyk language which is clearly reflected in the folklore records. For example, the Kalmyk literary (Derbet, Torgut) dentilabial в in the Buzavian dialect often corresponds to the labial б in хобц-хонран ‘own clothing’ (lit. хувц-хунр ). At the same time, the use of the middle labial vowel о in front of the labial and consonant м , в , б etc., is found in the Buzavian dialect which brings it closer to the Derbet dialect.

Bertagaev (1971) defines nominative binomials in Mongolian languages as “combinations of words of a paradigmatic level, performing the nomination function” (p. 121). In the Mongolian languages these binomial lexemes formed by the juxtaposition of two synonymous components are widespread. The semantics of these lexemes has a semantic nuance ‘collectiveness, intensity’: сурһуль +эрдм (‘study’ + ‘skill’) ‘enlightenment’, монг . эх + орон (‘mother’ + ‘country’) ‘homeland’. One of the components is often archaism: Kalm. үнр + танр . (‘smell’ + ‘ танр’ is not etymologized, but is identical to the first comonent үнр ) smells, stench’. In the Kalmyk Dictionary, Ramstedt (1935) denotes χonr̥ as “obsolete” (veraltet). In the modern Kalmyk language, the word хунр is translated as ‘clothing’ (Kalmyk-Russian Dictionary, 1977). In the explanatory dictionary of the Xinjiang Oyrats by Galzan (2006), the word xunar is interpreted as xubcasun xunar gekü mete (‘is used in combination ‘хувц-хунр’). In addition to the Kalmyk and Oirat languages, the words qubčasu and qunar and their variants are found in the written Mongolian language, modern Khalkha-Mongolian and Buryat languages and their dialects, as well as in Ordos, Dagur and other Mongolian languages. Thus, we agree with Mazarchuk (2017) who refers qubčasu and qunar to the native Mongolian words.

In the songs of the epic "Dzhangar", one of the most frequent lexical units in the thematic group "clothing" is the word улв ‘I. mattress. II. mouth dress (quilted, lined, worn under the armor). “The Big Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary” gives a concise definition of the Khalkha-Mongolian word улба “I. wadded jacket, worn under the armor" (Big academic Mongolian-Russian dictionary, 2001–2002). In the "Kalmyk Dictionary" by Ramstedt (1935) ulwa means ‘fluff, down pillow; wadded jacket under the shell’.

In the Mongolian languages, this lexeme has two meanings: ‘1. seat cushion ’and‘ 2. quilted short top dress, jacket’. According to Dybo (2015), “specialization of the meaning as a detail of protective armament is observed in Oyrat sources; the Oyrat origin is confirmed by borrowings with the same meaning in the Turkic languages” (p. 21). As for the etymology of this lexeme, according to Dybo (2015), in ancient times the word улв could be borrowed "from the unrecorded Eastern-Turkic reflex of the Turkic derivative in -mak from the verb root * ol- 'sit' meaning ‘(quilted) seat cushion'; Later, the word developed the meaning ‘quilted jacket’ and was borrowed by the Turkic languages, and the Manchu language.

The lexeme was found in the texts of the Lowoderbet and Bagatsokhurov cycles, as well as in the repertoire of Eelian Ovla and Mukuben Basangov.

<…> Шар-цоохр улваннь хавтхаснь / Арвн тавн мөрни үнтә / Атхмл шар алт авад… <…> (BC: I).

<…> Далыннь герлд / Далн хойр дарад одв. / Давхрлҗ өмсгсн / Далн давхр / Дарв шар-цоохр улвин / Далн хойр шар алтн товч / Мөлтртлнь цокв. <…> (MD: I)

<…> Далн мөрни үнтә улвиһән / Алсин ташадан шаңхглвл, / Әмни сәкүл хурц зандн селмиһән / Деернь төдглв гинәл. <…> (BM: V).

The following collocations with the lexeme улв were found in the text of the epos: шар торһн улв yellow silk quilted dress, шар-цоохр улв yellow quilted dress, далн мөрн үнтә улв yellow dress which costs 70 horses’. These examples indicate the material (silk) from which these garments were made, as well as the color range (yellow) of these fabrics.

Currently, the Mongolian peoples wear stocking gowns debel, debil or degel (дээл , kalm. девл (<dewl̥ (Ramstedt, 1935). In the Khalkha-Mongolian language, it is defined as 'outerwear with sides (энгэр) and collar (зах)', дэли; fur coat; sheepskin coat, robe' (Big academic Mongolian-Russian dictionary, 2002). In the Kalmyk language, девл is interpreted as “fur coat" (Kalmyk-Russian Dictionary, 1977), "fur coat, sheepskin" (Pyurbeev, 1996). In the epic "Dzhangar", this lexeme is used in two meanings: outerwear: <…> Җаңһрин орнд уга девлмүд / Һарһҗ өмскв. <…> (EO: III)”; a leather braid (a top layer) of the whip: <…> Һунн царин арсн һолта, / Дөнн царин арсн девлтә , / Цө болд товчта, / Махн болд альхта, / Гүш торһн салдрһта, / Гүрмр торһн оосрта, / Хадг зандн иштә / Хашл Тәрн гигч / Маля һартан бәрәд…һарв (BTs: I). The stem deb - has the same meaning as the lexemes деегүр ‘on top’, деер on, over’. Unlike Mongolian, where дээл is interpreted as гадуур өмсөх энгэр зах бүхийн урт хувцас ‘long outerwear with a side and a collar’, i.e. it can mean any outer clothing with a smell and a collar; in Kalmyk, it means ‘fur coat’.

Xалвң means “a festive headdress of a young Kalmyk” in the Kalmy lanuage (Pyurbeev, 1996), “a women's headdress” in the Oyrat language, '1) a cap, hat; 2) men's headdress with fields, trimmed with fur, velvet ’in the Khalkha-Mongolian language (Big academic Mongolian-Russian dictionary, 2002).

This lexeme was found in the texts of the Lowoderbet and Bagatsokhurov cycles, as well as in the repertoire of Eelian Ovla. The owner of this headdress is the spouse of Dzhangar Aga Shavdal. <…> Урн ээҗнь ишкҗ гинә, / Урҗин Бадм гидг хатн уйҗ гинә, / Тәвн туулн мөрн үнтә гинә / Таңсг мөңгн халвңган / Эрднь сәәхн толһадан / Тальвҗ үмсч гинә. <…> (BC: I) (Comparative historical grammar of Turkic languages, 2001).

Conclusion

The article analyzed only a small part of the lexemes ( хувцн , хувц-хунр , улв , девл , халвң ) belonging to the subject group “clothes”. They were identified on the material of the epic “Dzhangar”. However, the following ethno-linguistic patterns can be identified: 1) despite the fact that the material culture is permeable and influenced by other cultures and progress, the epic language preserves the original Mongolian lexical elements; 2) the language of the epic reflects dialectal features; 3) due to ethnocultural contacts with other nations, the names of clothes were borrowed. The study of lexical elements involves analysis of a large number of lexical units on the material of the epic work. It will reveal parameters of ethnic thinking and conceptualization of the naive picture of the world of the people.

Acknowledgments

The article was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research as part of the research project No. 19-012-00531 “The vocabulary of the material culture of the Kalmyk language: the experience of ethno-linguistic research" traditions and interaction "(state registration number AAAA-A19-119011490036-1)".

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