Open AccessOn the semantic shift in the meanings of the words house, village, city in the Nenets language
Author(s) -
Yuri Kvashnin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
vestnik antropologii
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2782-1552
pISSN - 2311-0546
DOI - 10.33876/2311-0546/2019-45-1/67-79
Subject(s) - tundra , settlement (finance) , ethnography , linguistics , history , key (lock) , toponymy , geography , archaeology , computer science , world wide web , arctic , geology , oceanography , computer security , payment , philosophy
The article studies the problems of a semantic shift in the meanings of the words “house”, “village”, “city” in the Nenets language. Based on descriptions extracted from dictionaries and historical and ethnographic works, it was established that the Nenets used the words “dwelling” and “settlement” exclusively for traditional tchums and campsites. During the historical processes that took place over the centuries on the territory of the Nenets, wide contacts with Russian settlers, they did not directly borrow Russian words for their language, but rather began to use Nenets words for stationary houses and villages. In these examples, we can observe how the language adapts the traditional words and concepts in a constantly changing environment.Key words: tundra Nenets, tchum, camp, house, settlement, city, semantic shift.