Article

Name: Plants nomination based on their similarity to other plants in the Finno-Permic languages

Authors: Igor V. Brodsky

The A. Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

In the section Linguistics

Abstract:

Phytonymy, an important part of the nominal vocabulary, is a subject of study that has signifi-cance in linguistics and other disciplines such as history and ethnography. This paper exam-ines the nomination of plants by comparing them with other plant names from the vocabulary of Finno-Permic languages. The aim is to describe how the folk names of a plant are nominat-ed based on their similarity to other plants by analyzing common nomination patterns in relat-ed languages and examining various aspects of the nomination process. The data were taken from various lexicographic sources, monographs, and articles. In total, more than a hundred folk phytonyms were considered. These are complex nouns comprising two or three components connected by a subordinating conjunction. The plant name to which the nomination object is compared takes the last place in such phytonyms. The names under consideration were found to be produced mostly based on two main attributes: resemblance to another plant and an additional characteristic such as color, habitat, growth period, taste, or fragrance. Flora vocabulary was studied mainly by descriptive methods, with component and semantic analysis approaches used in some cases. In the Finno-Permic languages, plant nomination based on similarity with another plant is less prevalent compared to nominations based on other features. We believe that it is due to the late origin of this intricate form of nomination that has led to its separate development in each language. Several plants, such as willow, peas, anemone, and horsetail, are particularly prevalent as objects of comparison.

Keywords: Finno-Ugric languages, Finno-Permic languages, vocabulary, phytonyms, lexical nomination, plants nomination, willow, peas, horsetail

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