Cand. Sc. (Philology), Bytsko N.I.

Higher State Educational Establishment of Ukraine

«Bukovinian State Medical University»

Onomo – semasiological research of micro-toponymy of Ternopil region

Onyms or proper names are significant amounts of lexical units in different areas of science that carry interesting informational content because they have the highest constancy and archaic meaning.

The object of our study is micro-toponyms or individualized names of small geographic objects, peculiarities of the local landscape (forests, tracts, ravines, etc.) of Ternopil region.

Geographical area of Upper Middle Dniester according to the administrative-territorial system covers Ternopil region, which was formed on December 4, 1939 as a result of the reunification of western lands of Ukraine, located in the Western part of the country on Podilla region.

The total area of Podilla region is 13.8 thousand square kilometers. The region is divided into 17 districts, in which there are 18 towns, one town of regional subordination, 17 urban villages and 1018 villages. There are 3 local settlement systems, such as: Ternopol, Krementz and Chertkov. Ternopil region is located within Podolsk Upland; the extreme northwestern part of it is situated within the small Polissya plain. There are 120 rivers in the region; each river is longer than 10 kms, they belong to the Dniester and Pripyat basins. There are about 270 ponds and reservoirs in the region, including those of the Dniester reservoir.

The surface of Ternopil is gently undulating forest and is deeply divided by canyon river valleys, ravines and gullies, the names of which preserved differently – timed archaic linguistic phenomena and are a valuable resource for finding out such common processes as ethnogenesis of the Slavs and their language and cultural contacts and the historical fate of the population of a given region [2, Т.2, с. 98].

Micro-toponyms (MT) together with oykonyms, hydronyms, oronyms and other classes and categories of place names or toponyms have historical, geographical and linguistic information.

Exactly these lexical units are a valuable source of knowledge for peoples’ history and cultural heritage of our language. Analyzing the names of geographic features from etymologic point of view, we can discover long-forgotten vocabulary, phonetics, grammar and word building phenomena. These names reflect our past and our present. Micro-toponyms are substantial part of toponymic lexical fund.

The need to fix these names is also important because in the historical development they often change their form and are replaced by other names or even disappear altogether.

In this regard, it is important to witness them and thus to preserve for scientific research. This can only be done by the conclusion and publication of the regional micro-toponymic dictionaries, which would more fully, would cover lexical material of a particular territory.

It is a source of information, along with historical written monuments, assembly and archival documents, topographic maps has cultural, local history value, especially in areas with a variety of rich landscapes [3, с. 199].

The establishment of lexical-semantic and motivational structure of analyzed micro-toponyms (MT) of a chosen area allowed us to clarify the relationship between the types of MT based on the following principles of nomination:

1) nomination for MT properties and qualities of the territory where they

are located;

2) nomination of MT in relation to the oykonyms and anthroponyms.

Thus, the most productive in Ternopil region is MT, reflecting the signs of countryside or coastline, where these geographic features appeared.

In this category we have identified three main thematic groups of MT names:

1) names associated with phyto-zoological semantic number indicating the nature of the blackthorn plant and the type of animals and birds that inhabit or inhabited the area: Berezeny, Verbiv Yar, Grabky, Hrechynyha, Hrushkove, Dubnyky, Zozulya, Kropyvky, Kulibaba, Lypnyk, Osychyna, Ternova, Chereshenka etc.;

2) names that describe the size or shape of MT: Velykyy Yar, Halyava, Horb, Dovhyy Lan, Dovhi Hony, Zavalenyy Yar, Kruhlyy, Klyn, Mizhrovy, Mezhi, Seredniy Horb ;etc.;

3) names that describe the location of MT: Velyke Ozero, Dykyy Zapust, Zastavky, Zamostove, Zadorozhky, Zapust, Poperechky, Sady etc.

Nominations of MT in relation to the names of settlements, near which they are represented to a lesser extend. In this category two typical groups were identified by us:

1) names, associated with the names of the settlements, where MT are located: Borshchovechchyna (m. Borshchiv), Buchyna (m. Buchach), Marshova Dolyna (khutor Marshalivka), Monastyrsky Yar (m. Monastyrsʹka), Terebizh (m. Terebovlya) etc.;

2) names, associated with the names and the surnames of the people:

Ivankivskyy Yar, Kostyuky, Yarena, Svyatyy Yan etc.

Using derivational and lexical-semantic methods of analysis of MT of Ternopil region, we made a conclusion of uniformity of certain names based on the repetition of the identical elements in the names or in the whole lexemes.

In different districts of Ternopil region we met 14 identical names of the settlements with the same MT, namely:

The names of such settlements as Sinozhat occurs 10 times in different areas; Dovha - 4 times; Dubyna - 3 times; Dubnyky - 3 times; Green krynytsya - 3 times; Klyn - 3 times; Dovgy hony - 2 times; Dernivka - 2 times; Mohylky - 2 times; Pusha - 2 times; Terebizh - 2 times; Medobory - 2 times; Chornyy lis - 2 times; Burduli - 2 times.

MT that were formed by lexicalization and onymyzation of word phrases where the reference component is the appellative and the attributive definition belongs to an adjective are found more often. During our research 30 names of such settlements were found, such as:

Bila Korchma, Velyke Ozero, Hlukha Dolyna, Horbatyy Lan, Dykyy Zapust, Zavalenyy Yar, Lysyy Okop, Skalatski Poplavy etc.

To a lesser extent we can meet prefixes and suffixes formation of the names of ravines (22 names): Zastavky [М-35-76-А-а (Staryy Tarash)], Zamostove [М-35-86-Г-b (Berezhany)], Zabystrytsya [М-35-76-А-b (Zalistsi)], Zadorozhky [М-35-76-А-b (Zalistsi)], Mezhirovy [М-35-86-А-g (Bolotnya)], Prydorozhniy [М-35-111-А-b (Koropets)], Pomorsky [М-35-76-А-a (StaryyTarazh)].

Analyzing the above mentioned MT of Ternopil region, we were inspired by the origin of the lexeme that was the basis for the name, its value and word building formants. The appearance of the names of many ravines in general is controversial. For example, in the village Romanov in Shumsky district, in Ternopil region, there is a ravine that is called Morda. The native people have some interesting versions about the appearance of the name of this ravine. On a sunny day ravine resembles the shape and the image to the beast. There is the second version of the name. The version suggests that it was Volyn prince Majjak, who died in the fight against Avars. The third version means that the word "face" from Slavic "murd" means dead, and in Latin "mort" means death, so perhaps mysterious name is associated with someone's grave or burial. Incidentally the same name has a field that is located in this village, near the coastline towards the village Myrove [3, с.165].

Thus, the names are quite interesting and mysterious at the same time, but they all are formed on the basis on the local geographical terminology that is characterized by instability and agile nature, because it comes in dialects of dialectical material and a dialect form.

A comparative study of above mentioned MT shows that it is a comprehensive analysis of the names of MT, which includes etymological, formant (derivational) and lexical semantic methods will disclose the nature of the category of proper names, identify the cross – language communication and inter – dialectal relationship, indicate Slavonic character in the naming of this type names.

As the scientist V.P. Shulgach mentions, "Nomenclature of geographical terminology consisting of toponymic system is the most stable and most archaic vocabulary layer with characteristic conservatism of formal semantic organization, with characteristic conservatism formal semantic organization, that is characterized by extensive reconstructive possibilities for hydronyms, fully characterizes the geographical features of the area (topography, climate, availability of flora and fauna, biological processes), reflects conditions of people's inhabitation of the territory, edge and can shed light to determine the ancestral home of the Slavs by a set of tokens and their semantics hydro objects that are reflected in the names."

Usually fragmentary analysis does not give a complete picture of the micro-hydronymy of Ternopil region, in particular the names of micro-toponyms, as an integral system, but it should be noted that this small stratum of onyms carries the corresponding historical, cultural and proper linguistic information.

These names are original sights of the social and cultural history of our people, the history of its language, the wealth of its noun in both today and in the deep past.

References:

1. Географічна енциклопедія України, Т.1-3. − Київ, 1989-1993.

2. Шульгач В. П. Праслов’янський гідронімний фонд (фрагмент реконструкції) / Віктор Петрович Шульгач. – К., 1998. – 368 с.

3. Топографічна карта Тернопільської області. − К., 2004.