About using suffixes of the Russian language in the Buryat anthroponomy

The article deals with Buryat surnames formed from Buryat names, wich modified with the help of Russian suffixes –k– and –ushk– with a diminutive and a pejorative meaning. Such name modifications were used in Russian Russian business documents of the XVI–XVII century, the time of Russian colonization of the territory of the pre-Baikal region, it is the modern Irkutsk region. Surnames, wich formed from modified Buryat names with diminutive and pejorative suffixes, are found mainly in Western (Irkutsk) Buryats. It is suggested that anthroponyms with diminutive and pejorative suffixes performed a social function just like in Russian society regardless of status in the Buryat society. It is proved that the Buryats of that time did not perceive these suffixes as socially conditioned and pejorative due to their lack of knowledge of the Russian language.