Anthroponyms and Ethnonyms as Markers of the City Identity

Purpose. The article studies peculiarities of anthroponyms and ethnonyms in the city landscape. The purpose of the work is to analyze these components from the point of view of integral approach. The empirical material includes official and unofficial names of Moscow and Chelyabinsk received by continuous sampling from the city Internet sites, literary work illustrations, dictionaries. Results. Attributive phrases with anthroponyms and ethnonyms dominate in the analyzed minor place names. Anthroponyms and ethnonyms concretize the place, the attitude to city objects. Negative or ironical connotations are typical of unofficial minor place names with anthroponyms, while ethnonyms in unofficial minor place names are of-ten neutral. The names of famous politicians, mayors, governors often become the source of transonymization which reflects critical attitude of the city residents to their activity. Abbreviation and wrong usage of the names of admin-istration representatives help create negative connotations of the minor place name. Conclusion. The authors argue that transonymization of anthroponyms in the city linguistic landscape results in the lack of understanding of such minor place names by non-residents, but such rethought nominations of the city objects and phenomena are clear for the residents even when the inefficient representative of the city or region administration leaves the office. On the other hand, mainly the old and middle generations of the city residents recognize and use minor place names with ethnonyms.