Cognitive models used in the naming of plants in Yakut

This article presents an analysis of naming strategies for plants in the Yakut (Turkic) language. The purpose of this study is to consider the motivational features of herbaceous plant names and to identify the features of the cognitive mechanisms of plant naming. The present study analyzes a corpus of 52 Yakut plants including important taxa such as ta:lǰït 〈таалдьыт〉 Holosteum umbellatum L., sutugax talax 〈сутугах талах〉 Salix pyrolifolia, Ledeb., timäx ot säbirdäxte:x ärbähin 〈тимэх от сэбирдэхтээх эрбэhин〉 Artemisia tanacetifolia L., among others. The corpus was selected via continuous sampling using published dictionaries and lexicographic sources. Our results show that motivational features fall into the following groups based on ecology, utility, and sensation: place of growth, use in medicine/economic activity, and plant appearance or smell.