Language is like God’s Soul…

An overview of the main ideas and achievements of the Kostroma Linguistic School in the field of dialect study of vocabulary and onomastics is given. The main attention is paid to semantic markers of Kostroma dialects, ethno-dialectal signs expressed in the language. The peculiarity of the geographical vocabulary of the region is noted, explained by the specifics of the local landscape. The study of urbanonyms of the ancient provincial city of Nerekhta as a source for the study of the ethnodialect zone is of particular interest. The work is complemented by information from the history of dialectology and ethnography of the Kostroma region. The high scientific level of the conducted research is emphasized. The practical value of the monograph lies in the use of its materials in lexicographic practice, in the development of dialect maps, in linguogeography and the study of linguistic migrations and processes of interaction of dialects with the Russian literary language.