THE MEANING OF THE WORD AS THE PRIMARY TOOL OF THE ETHNOGRAPHER (Based on the example of the words ӦЛӦҤ (чӧп, от, kӧk) ‘grass’ and ӦЛӦҤ ‘song, tale’ in the Altai and Kyrgyz languages)

Abstract

In ethnography, the meaning of words plays a pivotal role, as it enables researchers to understand the cultural, historical, and social dimensions of people’s lives and to interpret the data they collect. Ethnographers analyze the etymology of words, their origin, and the changes in their meanings over time. The significance of words in ethnography may be revealed through several interrelated aspects. First, the historical context is essential, since many words and expressions preserve information about the past and about events that were important for the bearers of a particular culture. Second, cultural specificity is equally important, as the meaning of a word is often closely connected with cultural traditions, beliefs, rituals, and conceptions of the world, as well as with the interaction of linguistic and ethnic processes, that is, with ethnolinguistics. In field research, ethnographers record not only the appearance of objects or descriptions of actions, but also the ways in which people use language in everyday life. This requires an understanding not only of the literal meaning of words, but also of their functional and symbolic implications. Thus, knowledge of word meanings in ethnography is not merely a linguistic task, but also an essential instrument for understanding culture, history, and social processes.

In the Altai and Kyrgyz languages, absolute synonyms constitute a distinct type of paired words that reflect the present state of the language and testify to its close historical connections with other languages. Their study is particularly relevant in view of the growing attention of modern linguists and Turkologists to the semantic structure of analytical units in different languages. Paired doublet words indicate possible ways and sources of vocabulary enrichment, as well as the emergence of new meanings through the use of native words and borrowings from the language of a contact ethnic group.

The article is devoted to absolute synonymous doublets within paired nouns in the Altai and Kyrgyz languages. It also examines the terminology associated with the derivative units discussed in the study. The methodological basis of the research is grounded in studies of the word-formation system of complex words in Russian linguistics. The issue of paired words in Russian and Turkic linguistics has been addressed by such scholars as A.A. Potebnya, D.S. Likhachev, G.G. Ibragimov, N.K. Dmitriev, E.I. Ubryatova, F.A. Ganiev, A.T. Kaidarov, N.M. Ondar, I.M. Chebochakova, O.Yu. Kokoshnikova, and others. In the Altai language, a special study was conducted by E.V. Chaichina, while individual aspects of the problem are reflected in the works of N.R. Baizhanova, A.V. Belyakova, and I.N. Muityueva. The author argues that one of the factors contributing to the emergence of paired words with synonymous relations between their components is the presence of homonyms in the language, since one component of the units under consideration is reinforced by a synonym in order to eliminate ambiguity in communication within a multilingual environment. Paired words are characteristic of territories where different language groups come into contact with one another. This phenomenon is highly productive in both the Altai and Kyrgyz languages. The article is based on materials drawn from bilingual dictionaries.