The Image of the Volga in the Russian Language Tradition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2018.4.354Keywords:
Russian studies; ethnolinguistics; semantic derivation; Russian dialect vocabulary; phraseology; derivatives of toponymsAbstract
This article reconstructs the image of the Volga in the Russian language, mostly referring to material from Russian dialects. The author focuses on the derivational and phraseological word family of the word Волга (Volga), i. e. the semantic and word-formative derivatives of the hydronym, as well as idioms and the paremiology based on it. Relying on the results of an ideographic analysis of the material, the author singles out several subject groups containing derivatives of the hydronym Волга, including “geography”, “hydrological characteristics”, “society”, and “material culture”. The author maintains that these denotative groups are unequal, with the sphere of society being the most detailed from the point of view of the lexical units it contains and semantics. In people’s consciousness, the image of the Volga is most closely connected with barge haulers and seasonal work. According to the author, the linguistic data described corroborate the anthropomorphic image of the Volga existing in folklore. The river is portrayed as a cheerful, lively, and smart person (a young girl). As well as the depiction of the Volga, the article puts forward a few motivational interpretations for a number of less clear idioms with components connected with Волга.
References
AKTE – Antroponimicheskaya kartoteka Toponimicheskoi ekspeditsii Ural’skogo federal’nogo universiteta (kafedra russkogo yazyka, obshchego yazykoznaniya i rechevoi kommunikatsii UrFU) [The Anthroponymic Card Files of the Toponymic Expedition of Ural Federal University (Department of Russian Language, General Linguistics, and Speech Communication of Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg)].
Andreev, V. N. (2016). Argoticheskie frazeologizmy, vklyuchayushchie imena sobstvennye i ikh omonimy [Argotic Idioms with Personal Names and Their Homonyms]. In Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki v 3 ch. Tambov, Gramota. No. 11 (65). Part 1, pp. 72–74.
Anikin, A. E. (2007). Russkii etimologicheskii slovar’ [Russian Etymological Dictionary]. Moscow, Rukopisnye pamyatniki Drevnei Rusi. Vol. 1–. Iss. 1. 368 p.
Belkin, D. I. (1998). Obraz Volgi-reki v strukture romana I. A. Goncharova “Obryv” [The Image of the Volga River in I. A. Goncharov’s Novel The Precipice]. In Zhdanova, M. B. et al. (Ed.). I. A. Goncharov: Materialy Mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi 185-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya I. A. Goncharova. Ul’yanovsk, Pechatnyi dvor, pp. 186–195.
Berezovich, E. L. (2014). Russkaya leksika na obshcheslavyanskom fone. Semantikomotivatsionnaya rekonstruktsiya [Russian Vocabulary in General Slavic Context. Sematic and Motivational Reconstruction]. Moscow, Russkii Fond Sodeistviya obrazovaniyu i nauke. 488 p.
Bunchuk, T. N. (2000). Repa v traditsionnoi kartine mira. (Opyt rekonstruktsii kontsepta) [The Turnip in the Traditional Worldview (An Attempt at Concept Reconstruction)]. In Khrolenko, A. T. (Ed.). Lingvofol’kloristika: sbornik nauchnykh statei. Vol. 3. Kursk, Izdatel’stvo Kurskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, pp. 44–56.
Chulkov, M. D. (1780‒1781). Novoe i polnoe sobranie rossiiskikh pesen v 5 ch. [New and Complete Сollection of Russian Songs. 5 Parts]. Moscow, Universitetskaya tipografiya N. Novikova. Part 2. 208 p.
Dahl, V. I. (1879). Poslovitsy russkogo naroda v 2 t. [Proverbs of the Russian People. 2 Vols.]. St Petersburg, Moscow, Izdatel’stvo M. O. Vol’fa.
Dahl, V. I. (1994). Tolkovyi slovar’ zhivogo velikorusskogo yazyka v 4 t. [Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. 4 Vols.]. Moscow, Progress.
Dahl, V. I. (2008). Poslovitsy russkogo naroda [Proverbs of the Russian People]. Moscow, AST, Astrel’. 752 p.
Filin, F. P., Sorokoletov, F. P., Myznikov, S. A. (Eds.). (1965–). Slovar’ russkikh narodnykh govorov [Dictionary of Russian Popular Dialects]. Moscow, Leningrad, St Petersburg, Nauka. Vol. 5. 344 p.
Getsova, O. G. (Ed.). (1980–). Arkhangel’skii oblastnoi slovar’ [Arkhangelsk Regional Dictionary]. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo Moskovskogo universiteta. Iss. 1. 168 p.
Kopylova, E. V. (2002). Slovar’ rybakov Volgo-Kaspiya [Vocabulary of the Fishermen of the Volga and Caspian Region]. Moscow, Vodolei Publ. 192 p.
Kozhina, T. N., Lekomtseva, N. V. (2004). Volga kak pretsedentnyi znak russkoi kul’tury [The Volga as a Precedent Sign of Russian Culture]. In Dzharylgasinova, R. Sh., Suprun, V. I. (Eds.). Onomastika Povolzh’ya: materialy IX Mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii po onomastike Povolzh’ya, Volgograd, 9–12 sentyabrya 2002 g. Moscow, Institut etnologii i antropologii RAN, pp. 10–15.
KSRNG – Kartoteka Slovarya russkikh narodnykh govorov (Institut lingvisticheskikh issledovanii RAN) [Card Files of Russian Popular Dialects (Linguistic Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg)].
Kusmidinova, M. Kh. (2010). Kontsept Volgi v istoriko-kul’turnom razvitii Rossii: filosofskii analiz [The Concept of the Volga in Russian Historical and Cultural Development: Philosophical Analysis]. Avtoref. dis. … kandidata filologicheskikh nauk. Astrakhan’, S. n. 19 p.
Leskinen, M. V. (2016). Velikoross/velikorus. Iz istorii konstruirovaniya etnichnosti. Vek XIX [Velikoross/velikorus. From the History of Ethnicity Construction. The 19th Century]. Moscow, Indrik. 680 p.
LKTE – Leksicheskaya kartoteka Toponimicheskoi ekspeditsii Ural’skogo federal’nogo universiteta (kafedra russkogo yazyka, obshchego yazykoznaniya i rechevoi kommunikatsii UrFU) [Vocabulary Card Files of the Toponymic Expedition of Ural Federal University (Department of the Russian Language and General Linguistics of Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg)].
Melnichenko, G. G. (Ed.). (1981–1991). Yaroslavskii oblastnoi slovar’ [Dictionary of Yaroslavl Region]. Yaroslavl, Yaroslavskii gosudarstvennyi pedagogicheskii universitet imeni K. D. Ushinskogo. Vols. 1–10.
Mikhelson, M. I. (1994). Russkaya mysl’ i rech’. Svoe i chuzhoe. Opyt russkoi frazeologii. Sbornik obraznykh slov i inoskazanii v 2 t. [Russian Thought and Speech. One’s Own and That of Others. Russian Phraseology Practices. A Collection of Figurative Words and Allegories. 2 Vols.]. Moscow, Russkie slovari.
Mokienko, V. M., Nikitina, T. G. (2000). Bol’shoi slovar’ russkogo zhargona [The Great Dictionary of Russian Jargon]. St Petersburg, Norint. 720 p.
Mokienko, V. M., Nikitina, T. G. (2007). Bol’shoi slovar’ russkikh pogovorok [The Great Dictionary of Russian Proverbs]. Moscow, OLMA Media Grupp. 785 p.
Nikolsky, V. A. (1973). Priroda i chelovek v russkoi literature XIX veka [Nature and Man in Russian Literature of the 19th Century]. Kalinin, S. n. 226 p.
Odessky, M. P. (2004). Volga – koldovskaya reka: Ot “Dvenadtsati stul’ev” k “Povesti vremennykh let” [The Volga – a Magical River. From The Twelve Chairs to The Tale of Bygone Years]. In Belousov, A. F., Abashev, V. V., Tsivyan, T. V. (Eds.). Geopanorama russkoi kul’tury. Provintsiya i ee lokal’nye teksty. Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoi kul’tury, pp. 605–624.
Pospelov, E. M. (2002). Geograficheskie nazvaniya mira: Toponimicheskii slovar’ [Place Names of the World. Toponymic Dictionaries]. Moscow, Russkie slovari. 512 p.
Riabov, O. (2016). “Mother Volga” and “Mother Russia”: On the Role of the River in Gendering Russianness. In Meanings and Values of Water in Russian Culture. L., Taylor & Francis, pp. 81–97.
Riabov, O. V. (2015). Volga-matushka v sovetskoi propagande perioda Stalingradskoi bitvy [Mother Volga in Soviet Propaganda of the Battle of Stalingrad]. In Voennaya istoriya Rossii: problemy, poiski, resheniya. Materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi 70-letiyu Pobedy v Velikoi Otechestvennoi voine in 2 ch. Part 1. Volgograd, Volgogradskii gosudarstvennyi universitet, pp. 115–120.
Semenkova, R. V. (Ed). (1978–2006). Slovar’ russkikh govorov na territorii Respubliki Mordoviya v 8 t. [Dictionary of Russian Dialects in the Territory of the Mordvinian Republic. 8 Vols.]. Saransk, Izdatel’stvo Mordovskogo universiteta.
Stavshina, N. A. (Ed.) (2008). Frazeologicheskii slovar’ russkikh govorov Nizhnei Pechory [An Idiomatic Dictionary of the Russian Dialects of the Lower Pechora Region]. St Petersburg, Nauka. Vols. 1–2.
Stroganov, M. V. (2017). Bol’shaya Volga v russkom fol’klore [The Great Volga in Russian Folklore]. In Dobrovol’skaya, V. E et al. (Eds.), Fol’klor Bol’shoi Volgi: sbornik nauchnykh statei. Moscow, Roskul’tproekt, pp. 310–329.
Suprun, V. I. (2008). Nash simvol – Volga [Our Symbol – the Volga]. In Vorotilova, S. V. (Ed.), Simvoly Volgogradskoi oblasti: Uchebnoe posobie. Moscow, Globus, pp. 18–21.
TKTE – Toponimicheskaya kartoteka Toponimicheskoi ekspeditsii Ural’skogo federal’nogo universiteta (kafedra russkogo yazyka, obshchego yazykoznaniya i rechevoi kommunikatsii UrFU) [Toponymic Card Files of the Toponymic Expedition of Ural Federal University (Department of the Russian Language, General Linguistics, and Speech Communication of Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg)].
Toporkov, A. L. (Ed.) (1995). Russkii eroticheskii fol’klor. Pesni. Obryady i obryadovyi fol’klor. Narodnyi teatr. Zagovory. Zagadki. Chastushki [Russian Erotic Folklore. Songs. Rituals and Ritual Folklore. Popular Theatre. Spells. Riddles. Chastushkas]. Moscow, Ladomir. 640 p.
Toporov, V. N. (1991). Eshche raz o nazvanii Volga [More on the Name Волга]. In Yazykoznanie. Literaturovedenie. Istoriya. Istoriya nauki. K 80-letiyu S. B. Bernshteina. Moscow, Nauka, pp. 47–62.
Vasmer, M. (1964–1973). Etimologicheskii slovar’ russkogo yazyka v 4 t. [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language. 4 Vols.]. Moscow, Progress.
Andreev, V. N. (2016). Argoticheskie frazeologizmy, vklyuchayushchie imena sobstvennye i ikh omonimy [Argotic Idioms with Personal Names and Their Homonyms]. In Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki v 3 ch. Tambov, Gramota. No. 11 (65). Part 1, pp. 72–74.
Anikin, A. E. (2007). Russkii etimologicheskii slovar’ [Russian Etymological Dictionary]. Moscow, Rukopisnye pamyatniki Drevnei Rusi. Vol. 1–. Iss. 1. 368 p.
Belkin, D. I. (1998). Obraz Volgi-reki v strukture romana I. A. Goncharova “Obryv” [The Image of the Volga River in I. A. Goncharov’s Novel The Precipice]. In Zhdanova, M. B. et al. (Ed.). I. A. Goncharov: Materialy Mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi 185-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya I. A. Goncharova. Ul’yanovsk, Pechatnyi dvor, pp. 186–195.
Berezovich, E. L. (2014). Russkaya leksika na obshcheslavyanskom fone. Semantikomotivatsionnaya rekonstruktsiya [Russian Vocabulary in General Slavic Context. Sematic and Motivational Reconstruction]. Moscow, Russkii Fond Sodeistviya obrazovaniyu i nauke. 488 p.
Bunchuk, T. N. (2000). Repa v traditsionnoi kartine mira. (Opyt rekonstruktsii kontsepta) [The Turnip in the Traditional Worldview (An Attempt at Concept Reconstruction)]. In Khrolenko, A. T. (Ed.). Lingvofol’kloristika: sbornik nauchnykh statei. Vol. 3. Kursk, Izdatel’stvo Kurskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, pp. 44–56.
Chulkov, M. D. (1780‒1781). Novoe i polnoe sobranie rossiiskikh pesen v 5 ch. [New and Complete Сollection of Russian Songs. 5 Parts]. Moscow, Universitetskaya tipografiya N. Novikova. Part 2. 208 p.
Dahl, V. I. (1879). Poslovitsy russkogo naroda v 2 t. [Proverbs of the Russian People. 2 Vols.]. St Petersburg, Moscow, Izdatel’stvo M. O. Vol’fa.
Dahl, V. I. (1994). Tolkovyi slovar’ zhivogo velikorusskogo yazyka v 4 t. [Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. 4 Vols.]. Moscow, Progress.
Dahl, V. I. (2008). Poslovitsy russkogo naroda [Proverbs of the Russian People]. Moscow, AST, Astrel’. 752 p.
Filin, F. P., Sorokoletov, F. P., Myznikov, S. A. (Eds.). (1965–). Slovar’ russkikh narodnykh govorov [Dictionary of Russian Popular Dialects]. Moscow, Leningrad, St Petersburg, Nauka. Vol. 5. 344 p.
Getsova, O. G. (Ed.). (1980–). Arkhangel’skii oblastnoi slovar’ [Arkhangelsk Regional Dictionary]. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo Moskovskogo universiteta. Iss. 1. 168 p.
Kopylova, E. V. (2002). Slovar’ rybakov Volgo-Kaspiya [Vocabulary of the Fishermen of the Volga and Caspian Region]. Moscow, Vodolei Publ. 192 p.
Kozhina, T. N., Lekomtseva, N. V. (2004). Volga kak pretsedentnyi znak russkoi kul’tury [The Volga as a Precedent Sign of Russian Culture]. In Dzharylgasinova, R. Sh., Suprun, V. I. (Eds.). Onomastika Povolzh’ya: materialy IX Mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii po onomastike Povolzh’ya, Volgograd, 9–12 sentyabrya 2002 g. Moscow, Institut etnologii i antropologii RAN, pp. 10–15.
KSRNG – Kartoteka Slovarya russkikh narodnykh govorov (Institut lingvisticheskikh issledovanii RAN) [Card Files of Russian Popular Dialects (Linguistic Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg)].
Kusmidinova, M. Kh. (2010). Kontsept Volgi v istoriko-kul’turnom razvitii Rossii: filosofskii analiz [The Concept of the Volga in Russian Historical and Cultural Development: Philosophical Analysis]. Avtoref. dis. … kandidata filologicheskikh nauk. Astrakhan’, S. n. 19 p.
Leskinen, M. V. (2016). Velikoross/velikorus. Iz istorii konstruirovaniya etnichnosti. Vek XIX [Velikoross/velikorus. From the History of Ethnicity Construction. The 19th Century]. Moscow, Indrik. 680 p.
LKTE – Leksicheskaya kartoteka Toponimicheskoi ekspeditsii Ural’skogo federal’nogo universiteta (kafedra russkogo yazyka, obshchego yazykoznaniya i rechevoi kommunikatsii UrFU) [Vocabulary Card Files of the Toponymic Expedition of Ural Federal University (Department of the Russian Language and General Linguistics of Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg)].
Melnichenko, G. G. (Ed.). (1981–1991). Yaroslavskii oblastnoi slovar’ [Dictionary of Yaroslavl Region]. Yaroslavl, Yaroslavskii gosudarstvennyi pedagogicheskii universitet imeni K. D. Ushinskogo. Vols. 1–10.
Mikhelson, M. I. (1994). Russkaya mysl’ i rech’. Svoe i chuzhoe. Opyt russkoi frazeologii. Sbornik obraznykh slov i inoskazanii v 2 t. [Russian Thought and Speech. One’s Own and That of Others. Russian Phraseology Practices. A Collection of Figurative Words and Allegories. 2 Vols.]. Moscow, Russkie slovari.
Mokienko, V. M., Nikitina, T. G. (2000). Bol’shoi slovar’ russkogo zhargona [The Great Dictionary of Russian Jargon]. St Petersburg, Norint. 720 p.
Mokienko, V. M., Nikitina, T. G. (2007). Bol’shoi slovar’ russkikh pogovorok [The Great Dictionary of Russian Proverbs]. Moscow, OLMA Media Grupp. 785 p.
Nikolsky, V. A. (1973). Priroda i chelovek v russkoi literature XIX veka [Nature and Man in Russian Literature of the 19th Century]. Kalinin, S. n. 226 p.
Odessky, M. P. (2004). Volga – koldovskaya reka: Ot “Dvenadtsati stul’ev” k “Povesti vremennykh let” [The Volga – a Magical River. From The Twelve Chairs to The Tale of Bygone Years]. In Belousov, A. F., Abashev, V. V., Tsivyan, T. V. (Eds.). Geopanorama russkoi kul’tury. Provintsiya i ee lokal’nye teksty. Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoi kul’tury, pp. 605–624.
Pospelov, E. M. (2002). Geograficheskie nazvaniya mira: Toponimicheskii slovar’ [Place Names of the World. Toponymic Dictionaries]. Moscow, Russkie slovari. 512 p.
Riabov, O. (2016). “Mother Volga” and “Mother Russia”: On the Role of the River in Gendering Russianness. In Meanings and Values of Water in Russian Culture. L., Taylor & Francis, pp. 81–97.
Riabov, O. V. (2015). Volga-matushka v sovetskoi propagande perioda Stalingradskoi bitvy [Mother Volga in Soviet Propaganda of the Battle of Stalingrad]. In Voennaya istoriya Rossii: problemy, poiski, resheniya. Materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi 70-letiyu Pobedy v Velikoi Otechestvennoi voine in 2 ch. Part 1. Volgograd, Volgogradskii gosudarstvennyi universitet, pp. 115–120.
Semenkova, R. V. (Ed). (1978–2006). Slovar’ russkikh govorov na territorii Respubliki Mordoviya v 8 t. [Dictionary of Russian Dialects in the Territory of the Mordvinian Republic. 8 Vols.]. Saransk, Izdatel’stvo Mordovskogo universiteta.
Stavshina, N. A. (Ed.) (2008). Frazeologicheskii slovar’ russkikh govorov Nizhnei Pechory [An Idiomatic Dictionary of the Russian Dialects of the Lower Pechora Region]. St Petersburg, Nauka. Vols. 1–2.
Stroganov, M. V. (2017). Bol’shaya Volga v russkom fol’klore [The Great Volga in Russian Folklore]. In Dobrovol’skaya, V. E et al. (Eds.), Fol’klor Bol’shoi Volgi: sbornik nauchnykh statei. Moscow, Roskul’tproekt, pp. 310–329.
Suprun, V. I. (2008). Nash simvol – Volga [Our Symbol – the Volga]. In Vorotilova, S. V. (Ed.), Simvoly Volgogradskoi oblasti: Uchebnoe posobie. Moscow, Globus, pp. 18–21.
TKTE – Toponimicheskaya kartoteka Toponimicheskoi ekspeditsii Ural’skogo federal’nogo universiteta (kafedra russkogo yazyka, obshchego yazykoznaniya i rechevoi kommunikatsii UrFU) [Toponymic Card Files of the Toponymic Expedition of Ural Federal University (Department of the Russian Language, General Linguistics, and Speech Communication of Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg)].
Toporkov, A. L. (Ed.) (1995). Russkii eroticheskii fol’klor. Pesni. Obryady i obryadovyi fol’klor. Narodnyi teatr. Zagovory. Zagadki. Chastushki [Russian Erotic Folklore. Songs. Rituals and Ritual Folklore. Popular Theatre. Spells. Riddles. Chastushkas]. Moscow, Ladomir. 640 p.
Toporov, V. N. (1991). Eshche raz o nazvanii Volga [More on the Name Волга]. In Yazykoznanie. Literaturovedenie. Istoriya. Istoriya nauki. K 80-letiyu S. B. Bernshteina. Moscow, Nauka, pp. 47–62.
Vasmer, M. (1964–1973). Etimologicheskii slovar’ russkogo yazyka v 4 t. [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language. 4 Vols.]. Moscow, Progress.
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2018-12-25
How to Cite
Krivoshchapova, Y. (2018). The Image of the Volga in the Russian Language Tradition. Quaestio Rossica, 6(4), 1188–1201. https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2018.4.354
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