Names of bread in the Russian North: An ethnolinguistic aspect

The article discusses the names of the most common types of bread, which formed the basis of the daily diet of peasants in Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Kostroma Oblasts. The material used is data from North Russian dictionaries, as well as information collected by the Toponymic Expedition of the Ural Federal University on the territory of the Russian North, including the northeastern districts of Kostroma Oblast, which previously belonged to Vologda Province. The material is considered in the semantic-motivational, etymological and linguo-geographic aspects in order to identify the units characteristic of the common language, to determine the specifically northern vocabulary, its origin, as well as local traditions associated with bread. At the first stage of the study, the common language designations used in the Russian North (khleb, karavay, bulka, etc.) are considered. Further, the dialect lexemes common for northern and central Russian dialects (kolob, kolobashek; karavashek) are analyzed. The article concludes with a presentation with a specific northern vocabulary (zhitnik, myakushek/myakonik, chelpan, yarushnik, yachnik). The analysis shows that literary names acquire dialect specificity due to the specification of the type of flour used (rye or barley). The spread of their diminutive forms is due to the tradition of baking small breads often (not big ones more rarely) because barley flour was used to make bread and it quickly became stale. The specificity of Arkhangelsk vocabulary lies in the predominance of the names of bread made from barley flour (cf. the nickname zhitniki for the inhabitants of Arkhangelsk Oblast), while in Vologda and Kostroma vocabulary names of bread made from rye dominate. Everywhere, bread was prepared from a mixture of flour of several varieties (rye, barley, wheat or oatmeal). Often, flour surrogates were added to bread - grass, clover, flax heads, etc. (compare kolobashek). Wheat bread in the Russian North was a symbol of festive food, well-fed, rich life; barley bread symbolized a meager daily meal, hunger and need; their use contrasted the inhabitants of neighboring territories. The considered names of bread, due to the nutritional significance of the product itself, serve as a naive-linguistic marker of dialectal zones: lexical oppositions are revealed both in the dialects of the regions and in the districts and neighboring villages. In terms of origin, the designations of bread in the Northern Russian dialects are predominantly original, but borrowings are not uncommon: the article discusses the possible Finno-Ugric origin of dialectal myakki (myakonek), chelpan and tupys ’. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

Keywords

Authors

References