Lexico-semantic Analysis of Geographical Terminology and Toponymy of the Chuvash of Smolkino Village, Syzran district, Samara region

The purpose of this article is an introduction to scientific circulation and analysis of geographical vocabulary and toponymy persisting among the Chuvash population of the village of Smolkino in the Syzran district of the Samara region. The toponymy and geographical lexicon of the Smolkino dialect of the Chuvash language have not been subject of comprehensive study until now, yet they are of considerable interest due to the linguistic specificity of the Chuvash village of Smolkino. To carry out a lexico-semantic analysis of toponymy and geographical lexicon operating in the Smolkino dialect in order to identify their characteristic features. The materials for this paper were the data received by the author from local residents and historians during the 2021 field work. A comparative analysis of the studied toponymic units is based on the materials collected in other Chuvash villages of the Samara Volga region during 2015–2021, as well as on the elements of the toponymic lexicon of the Smolkinsky dialect and place-names in the works by other researchers. An etymological analysis of toponyms was carried out taking into account the characteristics of the Smolkinsky dialect and its speakers, with regard to parallels from other Chuvash language native speakers’ territories of settlement. As a result of the study, the main elements of the geographical toponymic lexicon of the Smolkinsky dialect of the Chuvash language, their forms of existence and semantics have been identified. Special attention was given to the lexemes uncharacteristic for the Chuvash dialects of the region: adyl – ‘swamp, spring spill lake’; kran – ‘cut-through road in the forest’; teres – ‘well’. Most of the toponyms presented in the article originate from the Chuvash and Russian languages, the substrate layer is represented by Tatar language geographical names, for which there is a historical justification. In addition, there is a small Erzya language layer, the presence of which is explained by the close proximity of the Smolkin Chuvash with the Erzya-Mordovian population of the villages of Aleshkino and Yeremkino.