Finno-Ugric World

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T. A. Koski’s Contribution to the Preservation of Musical Culture (on the 100th Anniversary of Her Birth

Funding: The financial support for the research was carried fulfillment of the state order (No. 124022000077-1).

Lydmila I. Ivanova –
Researcher, Sector of Folklore and Literary Studies (with phonogram archive), Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences (11 Pushkinskaya St., Petrozavodsk 185910, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9549-2674, ljuchiki@mail.ru

Natalya V. Chikina –
Cand.Sci. (Philol.), Senior research associate, Folklore and Literary Studies Sector (with phonogram archive), Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences (11 Pushkinskaya St., Petrozavodsk 185910, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5419-3758, tchikina@krc.karelia.ru

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Mari Embroidery: Traditions, Research, Creative Exploration

Book review: Kudryavtsev V.G., Pavlova A.N. The art of Mari embroidery. Yoshkar-Ola: Publishing House “Mari Book Publishing House”, 2023. 256 p.

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Mordovian Dance in a Painting by the Artist A. A. Rybina-Egorova

Alexander G. Burnaev –
Dr.Sci. (Arts), Department of Theater Arts and Folk Art Culture, National Research Mordovia State University (68 Bolshevistskaya St., Saransk 430005, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2295-9699, burnaevag@mail.ru

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Original article
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.361-372

Chapel of the Nativity of the Lovozersky Sami Churchyard

Mark M. Shakhnovitch
Barents Centre of the Humanities, Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russia
Evgeniy B. Kolivatov
Independent Researcher, Murmansk, Russia

Introduction. The article considers the discovery of a unique object in the Lovozero tundra – the chapel of the Lyavozersky churchyard on Lake Chesynyavr. Monuments of Orthodox Sami culture in the Murmansk region have rarely been studied by specialists The purpose of the study is to introduce into the research circulation the information about existing documents on the history of the chapel, the results of expeditionary work on its survey, and to continue the discussion about the time of construction and the stages of history.

Materials and Methods. The research was based on archival documents and expedition materials. The research is based on the principle of historicism using the comparative historical method.

Results and Discussion. The chapel was found in 2002. Expeditions to study it took place in 2016 and 2019. The first documentary report specifically about this monument dates back to 1828. After the change of the site of the winter churchyard of the Semiostrovsky Sami, the chapel was not moved along with the dwellings and remained “in the forest”. With the formation of the Lovozersky churchyard, it reappears in official documents, already being called the Chapel of the Nativity. In 1895, it was expanded and renovated. It was abandoned in the 1930s.

Conclusions. When analyzing archival documents, it is suggested that the chapel was built in 1681. Its history can be traced back to the 1930s. According to the authors, the thesis of the “dual faith” of the Sami, which has been formed in the regional literature, requires revision. The fact of the existence of an Orthodox chapel in the Lovozersk tundra speaks about the stable Christian worldview of the indigenous population of this part of the Kola Peninsula.

Keywords: Russian Lapland, Lovozero tundra, Semiostrovsky churchyard, Orthodox chapel, Sami

Funding: The research was carried out within the framework of the state task on the topic of research FMEZ-2024-002 “Dynamics of the socio-cultural appearance of the Kola North in the context of the history of the development of the Arctic frontier of Russia”.

Acknowledgments: We express our sincere gratitude for the help to Y. Kozhevnikova, M. Kuchinsky, D. Ermolaev.

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Shakhnovitch М.М., Kolivatov E.B. Chapel of the Nativity of the Lovozersky Sami Churchyard. Finno-Ugric World. 2024;16(3):361–372. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.361-372

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Original article
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.348-360

Formation of the Stage Traditions of Mordovian National Ballet through the Work of Composer N. Kosheleva

Elena N. Antipkina
Yuri A. Kondratenko
Varvara S. Svyatogorova
National Research Mordovia State University, Saransk, Russia

Introduction. This article explores the history of the formation of the stage traditions of the national ballet of Mordovia, which can resist contemporary processes of globalization and unification that lead to the erosion of ethnic culture. The stage history of the ballet reflects the priorities of Russia’s national policy, which aims to strengthen the unity of the multinational people while preserving its ethnocultural diversity. The aim of the research is to identify the features of the staging of national ballets on the theatrical stage of Mordovia, using the work of composer N. V. Kosheleva as an example. Currently, her ballet music remains the only material available for creating ballet performances in the republic’s musical theater. However, her works have not been the subject of a comprehensive study within the context of the history of Mordovian theatrical art.

Materials and Methods. The empirical material included national ballets created by composer N. V. Kosheleva, as well as performances from the repertoire of the I. M. Yaushev State Musical Theater and the Mordovian Republican Children’s Choreographic School. The theoretical basis consisted of the works of scholars in the field of musical theater and professional musical and choreographic art of Mordovia. The research methodology is determined by the specificity of the material being analyzed. It is based on a historical-theoretical approach, methods of comparative analysis, and art-historical interpretation of artistic works, which justifies the use of musicological and balletological approaches to material analysis.

Research results and Discussion. The national ballet theater relies on the rich choreographic tradition of the people, which, when combined with the tradition of classical ballet, allowed the creation of a unique plastic language. The study found that in the process of composing ballet music based on a national plot, composer N. V. Kosheleva does not simply quote the tunes and melodies of the folk songs and dances of the Mordovians, but also adds her individual creative component.

Conclusion. The research results indicate that the national ballet of Mordovia represents a synthesis of ethnic dance traditions and classical ballet. It was formed in close interaction with domestic ballet and composer schools. This is confirmed by the ballet work of composer N. V. Kosheleva. The results of this study can be used for further research into the history of Mordovian ballet art in particular and the history of Mordovian art in general.

Keywords: national ballet, works of composer Nina Kosheleva, Alena Arzamasskaya, Mordovian legend, ballet music

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Antipkina E.N., Kondratenko Yu.A., Svyatogorova V.S. Formation of the Stage Traditions of Mordovian National Ballet through the Work of Composer N. Kosheleva. Finno-Ugric World. 2024;16(3):348–360. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.348-360

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Original article
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.334-347

Ethnolanguages in the Media Space of the Republic of Mordovia

Iraida A. Pakshina
Elena N. Maskaeva
Scientific Center of Social-Economic Monitoring State Institution, Saransk, Russia

Introduction. The transformation of the information space entails changes in the communication practices of the speakers of various ethnic cultures. Internet resources combined with traditional media provide new, previously unknown opportunities for the presentation and broadcasting of cultural values and unique features of ethnic groups. This situation actualizes the need to study the level of the use of media products in the languages of various ethnic groups. One of the objectives of the study is to assess the media us of the residents of the Republic of Mordovia in the languages of the titular ethnic groups.

Materials and Methods. The methodological basis was the data of sociological studies. The article summarizes the results of a representative questionnaire “Interethnic, ethno-confessional relations, language situation and migration processes in the Republic of Mordovia” conducted in 2022 and 2023, and a survey of experts “Ethnolanguage situation in the Republic of Mordovia” conducted in September 2023.

Results and Discussion. The results of the study of the language preferences of the population allow stating the predominant demand for Russian-language media products among the majority of the respondents. The audience of television, radio broadcasts, and printed materials in Moksha, Erzya, and Tatar languages is a small proportion of the respondents of Mordovian/Tatar nationalities. The main reasons for the rejection of media in the Moksha and Erzya languages were the lack of knowledge of the languages and lack of interest in the content of media products in the Mordovian languages. It is revealed that the content of media resources in a minority language is mostly indifferent to the native speakers themselves, who make up the target audience. The largest proportion of the respondents who found it difficult to answer was also noted among Moksha and Erzya population.

Conclusion. In order to attract the interest of a wider audience to the products of the republican media in the Mordovian/Tatar languages, it is advisable to conduct a marketing study of the preferences of consumers of media resources. It is necessary to change the concept of forming programs and broadcasts in the language of the indigenous peoples of the Republic, provide them with more rated airtime, and attract the readership with popular headings, collections or pages for various age groups, interesting and creative projects, continue broadcasting educational cycle programs that allow everyone to master Mordovian/Tatar language. It is advisable to expand the presence of national languages in the most popular Internet resources. At the same time, the content should not be formal or official. The materials of the article may be useful for researchers and government representatives interested in the problems of preserving, popularizing and promoting media resources in the languages of the titular ethnic groups.

Keywords: languages of the titular ethnic groups, minority languages, media resources in the national language, consumers of communication media, media space of the region, demand for national media products, Republic of Mordovia

Funding: The study was carried out as part of the implementation of the research project “Monitoring the ethnolanguage situation in the Republic of Mordovia” of the Thematic plan of the Scientific Center for Socio-Economic Monitoring.

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Pakshina I.A., Maskaeva E.N. Ethnolanguages in the Media Space of the Republic of Mordovia. Finno-Ugric World. 2024;16(3):334–347. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.334-347

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Original article
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.322-333

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Original article
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.310-321

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Original article
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.298-309

Anthroponymic Space in the Prose by Tamara Bargova

Svetlana V. Sheyanova
Nina V. Kazaeva
National Research Mordovia State University, Saransk, Russia

Introduction. The study of poetic anthroponymy is not an active research strategy in Finno-Ugric studies. Questions regarding the semantic potential of a character’s name within the content-meaning structure of the text remain on the periphery of the research interest of national scholars. This article focuses on the anthroponymy in the prose by T. Bargova as the subject of special research. The aim of the study is to determine the functional-semantic features of anthroponyms and naming models in the author’s works.

Materials and Methods. The research material was the stories and novel “God, forgive me!“ by T. Bargova. The work uses such traditional methods of linguistic research as descriptive, functional-semantic, structural, comparative-historical, as well as such modern approaches to the study of literary text as interpretive and gender ones.

Results and Discussion. The authors determined the models and principles of naming and the structure of anthroponyms in the stories and novel “God, forgive me!“ by T. Bargova. It described and revealed the functions of anthroponyms in the content structure of the works, their role in reflecting the realities of modern and historical reality, and the reconstruction of the national model of the world. In the author’s works, anthroponyms become multifunctional components, perform text-forming, emotional-stylistic, evaluative, informational, conceptual functions, and convey a national flavor. The choice of the name and form of the anthroponym is determined by the chronotope of the work, the author’s axiological concept, the originality of the creative worldview and the specifics of female writing.

Conclusion. The conclusions made by the authors contribute to the development of poetic onomastics in Finno-Ugric linguistics and can be useful in the process of teaching philological disciplines at a university. The prospects for further research of the problem are related to the study of the functional semantics of anthroponyms in the works of other Mordovian writers.

Keywords: literary anthroponymy, anthroponym, naming model, semantics of a character’s name, anthroponym function, Tamara Bargova, modern Mordovian prose

Funding: The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 24-28-00098 “Mordovian women’s literature: specificity of the representation of the gender picture of the world, national and artistic originality”, https://rscf.ru/project/24-28-00098/.

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Sheyanova S.V., Kazaeva N.V. Anthroponymic Space in the Prose by Tamara Bargova. Finno-Ugric World. 2024;16(3):298–309. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.298-309

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Original article
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.284-297

Mordovan Dialectological Dictionary as a Linguistic, Ethnographic and Folklore Source
Elena N. Vaganova
National Research Mordovia State University, Saransk, Russia
Irina V. Lapteva
Research Institute of the Humanities by the Government of the Republic of Mordovia, Saransk, Russia

Introduction. The study of the vocabulary of the dialectological dictionary, which has its own phonetic, grammatical and lexical-semantic features depending on the area of distribution, is considered relevant because it allows one to understand the richness of the national language. The dictionary contains hundreds of local folk words and expressions that are of cultural and historical value, while remaining poorly studied from the point of view of reflecting the “language” of folk culture. The article pays attention to lexical units that are relevant to the national linguistic consciousness, focusing on the structural variability of dialect vocabulary and the preservation of old vocabulary of certain semantic fields. The purpose of the study is to consider the lexical units of the dialectological dictionary, the ethnolinguistic interpretation of the material being studied, aimed at reconstructing the corresponding fragment of the linguistic picture of the world.

Materials and methods. The material for the study was the lexical units of the Mordovian dialectological dictionary, which convey the most diverse aspects of life. The article was written in line with ethnolinguistic research. The work used the method of selecting vocabulary material, the method of identifying semantic groups, the method of semantic analysis, as well as descriptive, comparative and contrastive methods.

Results and Discussion. For the first time, understanding the regional picture of the world is considered on the basis of the Mordovian dialectological dictionary. Everyday vocabulary was subjected to analysis and a brief linguocultural assessment: folk names for kitchen utensils and food, clothing, hats, embroidery and jewelry, games and holidays, individual household items, their functions in the everyday life of a peasant. A peculiar feature of this vocabulary is its close connection with the life of the people, indicating the territorial distribution in everyday life of certain groups of the population. The article systematizes the vocabulary denoting flora and fauna, terminology of kinship and properties, special attention is paid to dilexemic complexes, which are a vivid means of expression in folklore works.

Conclusion. The dictionary is presented as a lexicographical way of reflecting the material and spiritual culture of an ethnic group, as a way of preserving folk speech culture.

Keywords: mordovian language, dialectological dictionary, dialects, dialects, collection of linguistic material, Finno-Ugric peoples

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Vaganova E.N., Lapteva I.V. Mordovan Dialectological Dictionary as a Linguistic, Ethnographic and Folklore Source. Finno-Ugric World. 2024;16(3):284–297. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.284-297

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Original article
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.272-283

Assessment of the Classification of the Northwestern Dialect of the Mari Language from the Perspective of Glottochronology

Julia V. Normanskaja
Ivannikov Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Institute of Linguistics Russian Academy of Sсiеnсеs,
Moscow, Russia

Introduction. The classification of the Northwest dialect of the Mari language is currently not entirely clear. According to the Encyclopedia of the Mari El Republic, the “Northwest Mari language exhibits some features of both Hill Mari and Meadow-Eastern Mari languages.” However, G. Bereсzki believed that the Northwest dialect belongs to the Hill Mari language. The aim of the study is to analyze the linguistic similarity assessment of the language of the first Gospel created by Priest S. Bobrovsky (1821) and the dialect of the 20th century according to the data of I. G. Ivanov and G. M. Tuzharov, in relation to the Hill and Meadow Mari languages from the perspective of glottochronology.

Materials and Methods. To assess the proximity of the Northwestern Mari dialect of the 18th–19th centuries to the Meadow and Hill Mari dialects, phonetic isoglosses and glottochronology were analysed. For this purpose, a glossed corpus of the first Gospel was uploaded on LingvoDoc, from which a concordance was created. Proprietary LingvoDoc programs were applied to it for comparative-historical analysis.

Result and Discussion. As a result, it was found that in the 19th century, the first Northwest Mari Gospel showed a lexical similarity of 97% with Meadow Mari and 94% with Hill Mari. In the dictionary compiled in the 20th century, there was already significantly less similarity with both Meadow and Hill languages, but the same pattern persisted: lexically, the Northwest dialect in the 19th century and in the 20th century was closer to Meadow Mari. Kreknin’s and Platunov’s 18th-century dictionary practically matched the Meadow Mari book “Beginnings of Christian Doctrine…” created in the early 19th century, with only one diagnostic position showing double reflection. In the Gospel translated by Priest S. Bobrovsky, three positions already showed reflection typical of the Hill Mari grammar by A. Albinsky.

Conclusion. Therefore, it becomes clear that initially in the 18th century, Northwestern Mari differed little from the Meadow Mari language, while by the 19th century, it had become much closer to the Hill Mari dialect. The materials of the article may be useful for specialists in the Mari and Finno-Ugric languages.

Keywords: mari dialects, Northwestern dialect, glottochronology, phonetics, classification of dialects

Funding: The work was carried out with the support of the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 20-18-00403 “Digital description of Uralic language dialects based on big data analysis”.

Conflict of interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

For citation: Normanskaja J.V. Assessment of the Classification of the Northwestern Dialect of the Mari Language from the Perspective of Glottochronology. Finno-Ugric World. 2024;16(3):272–283. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.272-283