ETHNOLINGUISTIC ASPECT OF THE STUDY OF THE OIKONYMICON OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article analyzes the onomastic aspect of ethnographic and eth-nolinguistic studies. It gives an overview of ethnographic research of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (M. Maksymovych, I. Vahilevych, Y. Holovatsky, O. Afanasyev-Chuzhbynsky, I. Franko, I. Sharanevych, D. Yavornytsky, M. Sumtsov, etc.) who considered the issues of ethnography, the problems of functioning of the names of settlements. It highlights the points of contact of ethnography and modern branch of scientific researches – ethnolinguistics. The author proves that ethnolinguistics borders on ethnology, culturology and psycholinguistics, and focuses its efforts on studying the reflection in the language and language of ethnic consciousness, mentality, cha-racter, material and spiritual culture of the people. Ethnolinguistic studies deal with a double reflection (the fragment of reality – in the minds of the bearer of culture, the fragment of consciousness – in the language); it sets two interrelated tasks: to de-termine the specifics of the nationally determined perception of the fragment of rea-lity and to show the features of the linguistic channel of the translation of informa-tion about such a fragment of reality. The implementation of the ethnolinguistic code in oikonyms at the level before the oikonym (etymological), actually the oikonym (geo-graphic) and post the oikonym (associative) meaning. The motivation of the oikonym is determined by ethnonym or other ethnically marked unit; analyzed by separate oiko-nyms as ethno names, others – as symbols or ethosymbols. It is proved that the auto-chthonousness of the name of the settlement speaks of the primacy of the Ukrai-nian inhabited land, migration processes are accompanied by the transfer of names of native dwellings, the national color of the oikonyms is preserved for centuries or revived despite social changes and political trends. Summerzing the above, the eth-nolinguistic aspect of the study of the oikonymicon of Ukraine takes into account ethnographic information, but interprets them not only through the prism of ethno-logy, but also the laws of linguistics and culture of creation.