Regional peculiarities of glorification and deglorification in South Ural commemorative names

DOI:

Commemorative names of Chelyabinsk region are considered in the article as markers of regional identity. The analysis of regional identity realization is argued to be a relevant aspect of modern linguistics as it helps reveal unique linguistic characteristics of a specific region. Regional identity forms and reflects the attitude of the residents to themselves and reality. It is revealed in the regional type of people, values, mentality [Murzin, 2016, p. 60]. Regional identity is understood as a part of collective identity by K. Fox, A. Paasi, J. Paxman, M. Storry and P. Childs [Fox, 2004; Storry, Childs (eds.), 2001; Paasi, 2009; Paxman, 1999]. K. Fox introduces the notion “grammar of English behaviour” to analyze conversational and behaviour codes [Fox, 2004, p. 2]. M. Storry and P. Childs state that “identities are the names we give to the different ways we all are placed by, and place ourselves within, our culture” [Storry, Childs (eds.), 2001, p. XIX].

A.P. Chudinov and M.V. Nikiforova state that identity can be connected with realities that differ locally [Chudinov, Nikiforova, 2020, p. 110]. Peculiarities of regional identity verbalization are in the centre of attention of many modern linguists

[Ilyina, Kablukov, 2019; Kondrat’eva, Zheglo, 2019; Nikiforova, Nakhimova, 2020; Shusharina, 2018; etc]. I.V. Shalina and Yu.B. Pikuleva study Russian everyday communication from a language-and-cultural point of view [Shalina, Pikuleva, 2016]; T.A. Golikova analyzes transonymization models on the material of official and unofficial hodonyms of Moscow [Golikova, 2014]. D.Yu. Ilyin and E.G. Sidorova argue that in small settlements topographic and commemorative onyms reflect both globalization and glocalization processes [Ilyin, Sidorova, 2022].

There are still many aspects of regional studies that are open to discussion. One of such aspects of regional lexicon is connected with the commemorative place names, peculiarities of their glorification and deglorification. Commemorative practice of the cultural space of the modern Belorussian city is viewed by O.M. Sokolova [Sokolova, 2019]; Czech, Russian, Slovak, Yugoslav and Bulgarian commemorative place names, their frequent renaming and dependence on ideology and name symbolization are studied by J. David [David, 2011]. M. Azaryahu analyzes processes and ways of commemoration and decommemoration as an important constituent of political culture [Azaryahu, 1996]. R.V. Razumov describes commemorative names of the cities in the central part of Russia [Razumov, 2011]. Commemorative names are specific toponyms, place names and minor place names that glorify some important events or individuals in order to strengthen the models of heroic behaviour in mass consciousness and stir axiological and ideological attitude of society Commemorative names are understood as heroic ideologemes, a part of heroic paradigm, that is an open system of heroism perception in some community [Pitina, Taskaeva, 2021].

In the regional picture of the world, commemorative names are presented by stable verbal formulas, ideologemes that are fixed in language consciousness. N.I. Klushina defines ideologeme as a preset idea, mental stereotype, which becomes a centre of nomination and influences mass consciousness. Ideologeme is a dynamic phenomenon, complex cognitive and stylistic process and result [Klushina, 2014, pp. 55-57]. I.G. Vepreva and N.A. Shadrina argue that basic ideologemes preserve ideologically important characteristics of a certain period, thus forming an ideological denotative base. Through the context, ideological shades may be added to the meanings of non-ideological words transforming a neutral word into an ideological one [Vepreva, Shadrina, 2006, p. 124]. According to E.G. Malysheva, ideologeme as a mental unit is characterized by national features, dynamics of semantics and axiology, frequency and variability of representation means [Malysheva, 2009, p. 35].

Materials and methods

The research is aimed at studying realization of regional identity in markers of glorification and deglorification presented in Chelyabinsk region commemorative names. The main tasks of the research include:

• 1.    Description of universal and specific characteristics of glorification and deglorification.

• 2.    Review of a survey of Chelyabinsk inhabitants on commemorative nominations.

• 3.    Classification of commemorative nominations.

Regional commemorative names were studied with the reference to cognitive, language-and-cultural and sociolinguistic approaches, including cognitive, statistic, and stylistic analyses, upstanding sampling and a survey. The integral analysis of pure and transformed commemorative names enabled revealing specific representation of such names in the regional mass consciousness. The cognitive method discloses regionalism markers in the consciousness of a region residents, the sociolinguistic approach clarifies the distribution of the studied regionalisms among various social groups distinguished by the age and occupational parameters, while the language-and-cultural method actualizes national-and-cultural peculiarities of the regional picture of the world.

Official commemorative place names, minor place names and their folk substitutes are retrieved by upstanding sampling from web sites of Chelyabinsk region, from dictionaries and 250 answers to the survey “Research of modern culturally and locally marked words used in Chelyabinsk region” conducted in May 2022. 65% of the answers are the contributions of Chelyabinsk institutions of higher education: Chelyabinsk State University, International Institute of Design and Service, South Ural State Institute of Arts named after P.I. Tchaikovsky. The age of respondents varies from 17 to 60: the largest group is represented by students aged from 17 to 21 – 36.5%, the other groups include people aged from 22 to 35 – 29.7%, from 36 to 45 – 24.3%, and from 46 to 60 – 9.5%.

Results and discussions

Heroic paradigm as an open system of heroic names consists of universal and unique commemorative place names and minor place names that enter the language due to the glorification process. Universal recurrent commemoratives are found everywhere in Russia, while unique commemoratives are limited to a certain territory thus marking regional identity. The opposite process is deglorification, or the loss of heroic connotations in commemorative names.

Peculiarities of glorification in South Ural place names and minor place names

Unique commemorative place names of the region include historical commemoratives and commemoratives named after famous people. The first group contains about 40 toponyms named in honor of Ural Cossacks and Nagaibaks, (baptized

Tatars living in the south of Chelyabinsk region in Nagaibaksky district) who participated in the wars of 18^th – 19^th cc. They are associated with some cities, villages, ports: Arsinsky , Berlin , Berezinsky , Braulovsky , Bredy , Chesma , Izmailovsky , Leipzig , Paris , Tarutino , Varna , etc. These historical commemoratives have never been renamed; Ostrolensky is associated with the suppression of the uprising in 1831 in Polish Ostrolenka (the examples of commemorative place names are from: [Degtyarev, 1969; Shuvalov, 1989; Makeev; Matveev, 2001; Pyatkov, 2004]).

The second group of commemoratives is represented by commemoratives-anthroponyms, named after the first settlers: Butaki from Butakov, Isakovo from Isakov, Kazantsevo from Kazantsev, Pershino from Pershin, Sineglazovo from Sineglazov, Smolino from Smolin, Shershni from Shershnev etc.; chieftans P.O Agapov ( Agapovsky district), A.A. Uglitsky (settlement Uglitsky ); Bashkir sergeants Ayazgulova , Baigazina , Makhmutova ; mine owners and farmers: Katav-Ivanovsk , Nyazepetrovsk , Kleopino. The first part of the composite commemorative Katav-Ivanovsk contains Bashkir name of the river originating from the ethnonym katai , while the second part points to the names of the merchant and industrialist Ivan Tverdyshev and his son-in-law Ivan Myasnikov. Another example of commemoratives with mixed etymology is Nyazepetrovsk, which unites Bashkir hydronym Nyazya and the Russian name of the plant founder Pyotr Osokin. Settlement Kleopino named after the farmer N.G. Kleopin was founded in 1753 and has never been renamed.

Different historical periods of the territory are reflected in several generalized and concretized personal commemoratives. Atamanovskoe is connected with the period of settlement and development; Alexandrovskoe , Varvarinka , Vladimirskoe , Georgievskoe , Eleninka, Nikolaevskoe , Pavlovskoe are named after tsars and members of the tsar family. Soviet period is represented by the original compound commemorative Radiomajka. It is named either after the Day of Radio celebrated on 7 May or due to the nearby beacon (Toponimika Chelyabinskoy oblasti).

The above place names have lost connection with local history and heroic associations, whereas some commemorative place names after the leaders of uprisings still preserve heroic associations: Pugachevsky, Stepana Razina.

Numerous regional commemorative minor place names are unique. Commemorative hodonyms are dedicated to South Ural revolutionaries: Soni Krivoi st. (former Chernogorskaya ), Elkin st, (former Asian ), Vasenko st. (renamed Orenburgskaya ), Kashirinykh Brothers st.; military leaders: Blyukher st., Dovator st., etc.; South Ural inhabitants who participated in wars: Khokhryakov st., Sablina st., Surkov st.; Heroes of Russia: Kislov st., Rodionov st.; famous people in Chelyabinsk region: Kurchatov st., Academician Makeev st., Blagikh st., Constructor Dukhov st.

Unique commemorative minor place names reflect not only the history of the region but connection with the history of the country. Hodonym Beivel’ st. named after the city head and doctor A.I. Beivel, who made a considerable contribution into Chelyabinsk city development, is an example of reviving the unjustly forgotten names of outstanding people.

There are monuments to mining engineers P.P. Anosov , I.N. Bushuev in Zlatoust, Organizer of the South Ural region Ivan Neplyuev in Troitsk, etc. Commemorative plaques have been established to constructors, directors of plants and mines: V.P. Makeev , Ya.P. Osadchy , V.M. Ilejko , S.V. Komendant ; politicians: N.S. Patolichev , P.I. Sumin ; writers : Yu.N. Libedinsky , A.A. Shmakov , L.K. Tatianicheva ; school principals: A.I. Alexandrov , V.A. Karakovsky , etc.

If commemorative plaques glorify the names of some definite people, monuments often have generalizing nominations indicating to profession, place of work or the time of a memorable event: To the Warriors of Depot Perished in the Battles for Motherland , To the Workers of Tram Depot Perished during the Great Patriotic War , To the Perished Medical Workers of Chelyabinsk , In Memory of the Perished Workers of the Tannery , To the Miners of the Mine 21-22-23 , To the Miners of Oktyabrsky Settlement , To the First Komsomol Members-Builders of Magnitka , etc.

Some recent regional commemoratives glorify antiheroes of the past, like generalized commemorative To Czechoslovak Legionnaires, monuments to P.A. Stolypin, Alexander the 2nd.

Glorification of people or events can be preserved in folk place names which only local residents usually know. Unofficial name Tankograd (tank city) was at first the metaphorical name of Chelyabinsk Tractor plant that produced tanks during the Great Patriotic War, gradually the nomination expanded to the symbol of the city. Not very frequently used name Motherland of Soviet Ferroalloys , more frequently found in mass media names Capital of the South Urals , Magnitka , Steel Heart of the Motherland , etc. preserve heroic connotations. 40% of the survey respondents including 51% of students aged from 17 to 21 mentioned Tankograd in their answers, it illustrates the positive perception of the city image by the young generation. Glorification is mirrored in unofficial names of monuments: Soldier with the Banner , Aliosha , Podvig (feat), Orlionok (eaglet) .

Glorification is reflected in regional place names and minor place names that upraise to the status of historical commemoratives and commemoratives named after famous people. They remain in the regional consciousness for a long time without changing the original content, though simplifying the form without losing heroic sense. It should be mentioned that universal and local commemorative names seldom, if ever, undergo renaming, although they can lose ideological and heroic shades of meaning. If commemorative names lose their heroic content, the opposite process (deglorification) occurs. It is closely associated with glorification, being represented in renaming commemoratives by folk names.

Peculiarities of deglorification in South Ural place names and minor place names as the result of transonymization

Deglorification may be presented as a complete or partial loss of heroic connotations in commemorative names. Commemorative names could fail to keep heroic meaning in folk naming in the process of transonymization – creation of unofficial, often expressive, names that function in the language space alongside with official ones. Deglorification of commemorative names is contributed by folk etymology that leads to distortion of the initial form of the commemorative name.

Deglorification, as a heroic paradigm, is an open and flexible system that easily reacts to the changes in mass consciousness and transforms the content of the nomination. One and the same personality can acquire both positive and negative evaluative interpretation because evaluative modus can change considerably due to the domineering ideology. According to V.N. Suzdal’tseva, a mythologized person is placed at the axiological scale either in the positive zone (glorification) or in the negative zone (demonization) [Suzdal’tseva, 2018].

If official renaming always leads to deglorification of commemoratives, unofficial names can be deglorified completely or partially. Foreign place names can transform, be simplified in vernacular, as due to the frequent usage the transformed names gradually acquire official status and lose commemorative associations. The bright example of such transformation is Demarino , a settlement in Plast district. It got its name after the military engineer, colonel, commandant of Troitsk O.Ch. de Marine. The French surname was simplified, and now the place name sounds really Russian (Ofitsial’nyi sait Demarinskogo sel’skogo poseleniya). The forms of monosyllabic or bisyllabic European place names that were transliterated into Russian haven’t changed by now: Berlin , Varna . Some historical commemoratives are even used unchanged in the proverb U Rossii tri bedy: Varna, Bredy, Kartaly (Russia has three troubles: Varna , Bredy , Kartaly ). Bredy is rhymed with bedy (trouble) in Russian.

There are several ways of simplification and Russification of historical commemoratives: suffixation, shortening and a mixed one. A Russian toponymical suffix - sk - was added to a foreign historical place name: Brailov sk y , Izmailov sk y , Kar sk y . Some original place names were simplified by adding diminutive suffix - k - to become official names: Borodinov k a , Navarin k a , Novin k a , Varshav k a . The French place name Arcis-sur-Aube , which is difficult for pronunciation, are preserved only the first part in the name of the Cossack settlement Arsin sk y , it glorifies the victory over Napoleon. In Fershanpenuaz the complex name is preserved, but the folk name shortens it to Fershan k a .

Deglorification is realized in shortened unofficial regional names of commemoratives: Che , Chel , Chb , Chlb instead of Chelyabinsk (according to one of the versions, it is a Turkic name Chelebi – prince, nobleman and can be considered commemorative). Suffixation is used in unofficial Kirov k a for the hodonym Kirov st., Magnit k a for Magnitogorsk . Place name Zlatoust (named after John Chrysostom) has several unofficial names with preserved positive connotations: shortened Zlat and the name with diminutive suffix Zlat ik. Only the first part of the commemorative place name Port Artur is preserved in the folk name of the part of Lenin district in Chelyabinsk. Port is no longer perceived as heroic.

According to the survey, there are 29 unofficial synonyms of Chelyabinsk, 15 of which are abbreviations. In 70% of the answers, Chelyabinsk unofficial names are repeated indicating a well-established attitude of the respondents to the place name. There are only 4 metaphorical names of the city in the answers: gorod-zavod (factory city), Zaural’sky Chicago, meteorite city , severe city ( surovy ). One invective name Che*lyadinsk is mentioned in 6 answers. Unofficial minor place names are repeated in 40% of the answers, over 40% of respondents did not mention them.

Deglorified names include Chelyaba , Che , Chlb , Chb , Chelic . Some respondents mention Bashkir and Tatar Selyaba , Silebe , Chilebe . Only 4 folk names of the city are mentioned more than 20 times: Chelyaba (60), Tankograd (48), Che (48), Chelik (21). Complete deglorification is realized in the usage of some familiar unofficial names of the city: Cherdachinsk (the blend is formed from the noun “cherdak” – attic or the beginning of the place name Chelyabinsk and the suffix -sk), Che* lyadinsk, Chikaginsk . Most frequently used unofficial names of Chelyabinsk are given in the diagram (Fig. 1).

MKS (international space station) is the example of partial deglorification, it preserves associations with the fundamental research of space. The three closely situated streets named after academicians Akademik Korolev , Akademik Makeev , Akademik Sakharov represent a case of a generalized folk name. However, glorification is lost in the folk place name TRK when it is used instead of the old town Troitsk .

Survey respondents argue that commemorative Magnitogorsk , Troitsk and Zlatoust are the most famous cities of the region. Some respondents refer commemorative Yekaterinburg to Chelyabinsk region. Yekaterinburg is evidently mentioned by foreign students. Metaphorical name Stal’noe

■ Deglorified names of Chelyabinsk

Fig. 1. Unofficial names of Chelyabinsk (according to the survey data)

serdtse rodiny (steel heart of the Motherland) for Magnitogorsk is found in one answer.

Zakholust (blend from “zakholust’e” – outback or the beginning of the official name of the city and the end of the place name) is the example of complete deglorification of Zlatoust . The folk name renders the negative attitude to the city. Nobody mentioned commemorative place name Nyazepetrovsk in the answers.

The most frequently used unofficial names of Zlatoust that illustrate complete or partial deglorification are shown in the diagram (Fig. 2).

Both personal and generalizing commemoratives are deglorified in Chelyabinsk region. The name of the monument To the Volunteers-Tankmen is sarcastically concretized and simplified: Muzhik iz Lyuka (the man from the hatch), Vodoprovodchik (plumber). Chelyabinsk residents do not like the form of the monument due to some disproportions in the figure of the tank man. Figurative associations are sometimes rather exact: the monument to I.V. Kurchatov Split Atom is called Vratar’ (goalkeeper), Ben Laden s Bashnyami (Ben Laden with towers); Tale of the Ural on the railway station square is named Ded Moroz (Father Frost). Panel Kombat (battalion commander) is named Muzhik s Pistoletom (the man with the gun). The recently opened Monument to the Secret Service Agent Iskhak Akhmerov is named Muzhik v Pal’to (the man in the coat). The monument to S.S. Prokofiev is named The Man with the Mobile. Surovy Muzhik (severe man), Puteshestvuem v Odinochku (travelling alone), ironical Olitsetvorenie Perestroiki (personification of perestroika) are a few of the numerous folk names of the monument Na Novy Put’ (on the new way). Muzhik (a rude synonym of the noun “man”) if often found in folk names in the combination with the adjective surovy (severe) which is the marker of Chelyabinsk identity.

There is complete deglorification in the folk names of hodonyms Son’ka instead of Sonya Krivaya st.; Khudyachka for Khudyakov st. named after the hero of the Great Patriotic War; Bratiev (brothers) , Bratukha, Kashirka instead of Bratiev Kashirinykh st.; Komsa for commemorative Komsomol’sky ave.; Molodykh (young) for Molodogvardejtsev st., vernacular Chekukha (small bottle) for Tchaikovsky st., etc.

The survey results have proved that transonymization of commemoratives is a chief characteristic of all types of regional commemorative names. It can be complete or partial, reflecting positive attitude to official names in partial deglorification, whereas more frequently some negative attitude is found in complete deglorification. The respondents suppose that the majority of unofficial names point to creativity of citizens and serve as markers of regional identity.

Conclusion

The analysis of Chelyabinsk region commemorative names as markers of regional identity and a part of heroic paradigm on the gradual scale of glorification and deglorification shows the effectiveness of the integral approach. The open and renewed character of heroic paradigm is connected with the ability to change the heroic shade, which results in the appearance of new heroic ideologemes, substitution and sometimes revival of the old ones. The process

■ Deglorified names of Zlatoust

Fig. 2. Unofficial names of the city Zlatoust (according to the survey data)

РАЗВИТИЕ И ФУНКЦИОНИРОВАНИЕ of glorification and commemoration is represented by official recurrent and unique regional commemorative names of famous people and events. Unique regional commemorative names are represented by official nominations that glorify the past and the present of the South Ural. By now, regional official commemorative names are not substituted by some other nominations, whilst they often lose heroic associations in the mass language consciousness of the region inhabitants. Unofficial names exist in parallel to official heroic nominations; in folk place names and minor place names the glorification may be preserved fully or partially, or be completely lost.

Being logically connected with glorification, the process of deglorification is renaming with folk names. It consists in complete or partial loss of heroic associations in the commemorative name as the result of transonymization, in case when folk unofficial names appear. Heroic meaning remains in partial deglorification; being specified by some emotive connotations, it presents the attitude of the people to the commemorative name. Heroic meaning of a commemorative place name is faded in case of complete deglorification, thus reflecting ironical or contemptuous attitude of the South Ural people to transformed place names or minor place names.

Unique regional commemorative names may actively change their original form which reflects the result of rethinking, that is when the place name or minor place name change the meaning, losing its connection with history or ideology, besides simplification occurs to change a difficult foreign place name. Complete or partial deglorification of commemorative names may be explained not only as the result of the ideological change, loss of historical memory, but it demonstrates a tendency to creativity in folk names in vernacular speech of the region inhabitants. Recurrent usage of the same folk names in the answers to the survey is considered a reliable proof that regional place names and minor place names are markers of regional identity.

NOTE

1 The research was funded by RSF and Chelyabinsk Region, project № 22-1 8-20022 “Cognitive-pragmatic and Invariant Approaches to the Study of Modern Culturally and Territorially Marked

РУССКОГО ЯЗЫКА

Words Used by Residents of Chelyabinsk Region, with the Creation of a Russian-English Dictionary of the South Ural Realities” .

Исследование выполнено за счет гранта Российского научного фонда и Челябинской области № 22-18-20022 «Когнитивно-прагматический и инвариантный подходы к исследованию современных культурно и территориально маркированных слов, используемых жителями Челябинского региона, с созданием русско-английского словаря ЮжноУральских реалий» .