Historical and linguistic aspects of creating place names as indicators of landscape development (by a case study of Khangalassky ulus of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia))

Based on an interdisciplinary approach, the paper examines the historical and linguistic aspects of the emergence of the place names in Central Yakutia of the Russian Federation. The research analyzes place names and landscape vocabulary which provide an overview of the history and development of Khangalassky Ulus of Central Yakutia by different ethnic groups. The authors identify the historical stages influencing the creation of place names: the Middle Ages, the accession of Yakutia to the Russian state, the Soviet and post-Soviet stages. The study reveals the cognitive representation of the landscape development through the language images of space. The authors classify the names of geographical features which are closely related to human activity in the region under review during the Middle Ages (conceptual fields of man and society as well as agricultural activities). The stages of place names development are identified in the shift of dialectical relationship between man and nature to the modern urban approach to the land development associated with the general trend towards globalized and modernized lifestyle of the population.