On the mythologization of toponyms in the language and folklore of the Altaians

The paper is devoted to identifying the features of the mythologization of Altai place names. An ethnolinguistic approach to the subject of research using the methods of motivational and contextual analysis allowed to reveal the features of mythologized toponyms in Altai language and folklore. For toponyms that contain myths in their internal form mythologization occurs on the basis of lexical motivation which is also reinforced by the mythological text. Place names that do not contain myths in their internal form have only a mythological context. In the mythologization of toponyms an important role is played by the plots and motives known in world folklore about the flood, glaciation on the earth and the disappearance of some species of the animal world, the end of the world, theophany, and the struggle of man with a monster.