CC BY
13Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 5 (2013 6) 647-652
УДК 811.512
On Functioning of Yakut Borrowings
in the Language of the Evenki in the Amur Region
(Sociolinguistic Aspect)
Cyril N. Struchkov*
Institute of Humanitarian Researches and Problems of Indigenous Peoples of the North SA RAS 1 Petrovsky Str., Yakutsk, Respublika Sakha (Yakutia), 677007 Russia
Received 20.12.2012, received in revised form 26.02.2013, accepted 25.04.2013
This article is devoted to the lexical borrowings from the Sakha language that reflects the direct connections of the Evenki language with the Sakha language and shows itsfunctioning in sociolinguistic aspect in the folklore texts of the Evenki in the Amur Region.
Keywords: Evenki language, Yakut language, borrowings, loan words, language contacts, folklore, sociolinguistic.
The work was fulfilled within the framework of the research financed by the Krasnoyarsk Regional Foundation of Research and Technology Development Support and in accordance with the course schedule of Siberian Federal University as assigned by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
The material of this article is the folklore texts and the speech samples collected from Amur Evenki by N.Y. Bulatova, G.I. Varlamova and T.E. Andreeva. The subject of this research is lexical borrowings from Yakut language. The aim of this article is to define the level of development of Yakut loanwords in Evenki language based on text of Amur Evenki.
Amur Evenki dialects belong to the eastern dialect ofEvenki language. G.M. Vasilevich noted that «the eastern dialect group is a patchwork of dialects, keeping traces of originating from the dialects of both Northern and Southern groups. Dialects which are common on the territory of one of the administrative and economic
© Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved
* Corresponding author E-mail address: kafedrasev@mail.ru
centers have developed general vocabulary and some general forms. Inversely common dialects of the closed areas continue to keep some peculiarities, extinct in the dialects, which they have originated from» (Parnikova, 1962). The problem of interaction between languages, their partial mixing always interested scientists and are among the most complex and pressing problems of linguistics. Language contacts affect phonetics, morphology, lexical composition and interaction of language, according to the well-known linguists can determine the course and direction of evolutionary change. Evenki and Yakut's elationships have a long history, as the documents of XVII century indicate, mentioning
Yakut and Evenki. A.S. Parnikova writes in her paper «On the resettlement of Yakuts in XVII-XVIII centuries.»: «At the end of the XVII century some individual resettlement in Outer Manchuria are known. The petition in 1695 mentions the Yakuts of Baturusskaya volost1 that of «away from yasak2 collectors left their home and drove to the Chinese side ...» (Romanova et al, 1975: 18). Then she writes: «... So, at the end of XVII and at the beginning of the XVIII centuries, the Yakut population has spread not only in remote areas of Yakutia, and beyond it. In the XIX and early XX centuries Yakut settlement continued. Their movement was particularly intense due to the development of gold mining, with the opening of the port of Okhotsk, arrangements of the routes and the settlement in Amur region. However, most of the Yakut population remained within the territory of its settlement, established in XVII-XVIII centuries.» (Romanova et al, 1975: 19).
According to the historical data at the beginning of the twentieth century in the Amur region lived Oroqens, Manegry, Yakuts, Tungus (Evenki). In the western and north-western part of the Amur region, in the upper reaches of the Amur and Zeya rivers- Oroqens, in the north of the area - Yakuts, in the Upper Amur, Selemdzha, Bureya and Big Bira upstream -Manegry [Government Portal of the Amur region «Joining the Amur region to Russia in the second half XIX century - new page in the history of the region: «Muravyevsky century on the Amur,» section «colonization movement in Outer Manchuria in the second half of the XIX century.»]
According to the recollections of modern Amur Evenki, shortly before the 1917 revolution they were horsed and some of them had horses and deers in their farms, such as the ancestors of the Keptuke (Keptuken / Koptuko). These materials were collected by G.I. Varlamova
during the expedition in 70's in the Amur region. (Shcherbak, 2005)
In the Amur region Evenki populate three northern regions - Tynda, Zeya and Seleindzinski areas (Bulatova, 1987: 3-5).
Various forms of communication influenced the languages Evenki and Yakut. Bulatova N.Y.notes the significant influence of the Yakut lexics on the languages of Seleindzinski and Dzheltulakski Evenki (Bulatova, 1987: 85). In the speech samples collected by Andreeva T.E. and folklore materials of Seleindzinski Evenki collected by Bulatova N.Y., a large amount of Yakut borrowing can be grouped into the following lexical-semantic groups: Related Terminology (эhэкэ < yak. э6эккэ grandfather, эвэкэ <yak. э6эккэ grandmother, кутэт <yak. k^t^3t son-in-law), the names of the cattle (HHaK< yak. braax cow, oryc<oiyc bull), the name of the area of the settled way of life and economy (TyHHyK< yak. t^hh^k window, KHnTMH < yak. khctthh scissors), words expressing abstract concepts (KypaHaK< yak. KypaaHax emty, npac<yak. bipaac clean, o^ok< yak. o^ox life, 6h^hp< yak. 6bmbip in antiquity, in the old days), the names of animals, birds, and fish (KyTynaK <yak. KyTynax mouse, 6ynyiypac< yak. 6onyjypac grouse), etc.
Thus, the text «Ilan nekunel» recorded by A.S. Yakovleva in 1976 (Bulatova, 1987: 92), has such Yakut borrowing as 6n^HprH «earlier», cэhэн «story, legend,» KenaH «nowise», эдэp «young», gypyKHH «all», cagnnaK «fur coat»:
«Эвэнкн 6h^ h^h xyHagHHH. eht^bkh этнpкэн. H^aH xyHag'nH - n^aH oxothhkh^. OpoH-go anuH, gnHa-ga annH. Tap этнpкэн - g'3, 6энyктэтнэттэн. Eэнyктэтнэвкн, g^My^HBKH, eKyHMa-ga эвкн Bapa.
Tap 6H^HprH 6y5a htthh (cэhэн) 6h^ Tapn. Tap тэg'э-5y, yn'oK-Ky, gn capaH!
,2^, th^h 6энyктэтнэпкн. Этнpкэн xa^rapnH энyвкн, этнpкэн eha^HH энyвкн,
эпки кейан вара бэйудмэ. Тар нэкэдэнэ, йадма туктиттэн: «долокйо-5у ичэдэм», - гуннэ. Арай тар туктинэн,эдэр бэйэ тэ5этчэчэ. Едук-та хэгдидэ бэйэндэ, едук-та гудэй ичэдэткэн, эвэди тэтичи бэйэ тэ5этчэчэ. Йад ойомодун тэ5этчэчэ. Тар этиркэн дэлэнэ-дэлэнэ, да5амача. Эвэнки эвэнкилэ он этэн да5амара, оттон унтачи, садийакичи, дурукин эвэнки, толко хэгдидэ-нун».
Translation: «The Evenki lived with his three daughters. Lives (poorly) old man. Three daughters (his) - Three hunters. No deer, no dog. That old man hunts and hunts (pity). Hunts, starves - kills nothing. This is a legend of the old land (country). Is it true, is it false, who knows! Well, he's hunting. The old man's feet hurt, the old man's eyes hurt, cannot kill a moose (wild animal). Doing so, he climbs up the hill, «At least I'll be able to see a wild sheep,» - he thinks. And when climbed up, (sees) the young man sitting there. Very huge man, very handsome appearance, dressed in the Evenki clothes. Sitting at the top of the hill. That old man, being afraid, approached. Evenki to Evenki can't but approach, because the fur boots, a fur coat, a hat, all is Evenki, but huge» (Bulatova, 1987:109).
Consider another example: the Appendix to the «Dictionary of the dzheltulakski dialect of Evenki in Amur region» (Dictionary of Zheltulaksky.., 2010) gives examples of speech and folklore materials of dzheltulaksky dialect native speakers recorded in the late 80's. The text represents the main language features of the dialect as close to spoken language as possible, according to G.I. Varlamova they are reproduced as close to the spoken language as possible. In samples of speech of Dzheltulakski Evenki the influence of the Yakut language is also visible, although only few people actually can speak it. The text «Ноноли бини» narrated by E.M. Malchakitov also allocates 9 Yakut borrowings:
«Аминми энинми Нёкоткар бичаль. Олокмаду бальдычал, Таанэ даадун, эле эмэчэль 1928 аннаныду. Нёкотыд баллыгыраскаллу веет! Би эду иэвча биим. Нонон эрмаль эвэнкиль Читинскай окрукту числидяритын. Калаканду нонон эвэды окрук бича. Кэтэкэкун тармаль эвэнкиль орэнчэль биитын. Нонон сомат эвэдыт мут посолькаду биин. Эткэмэль эвэнкиль лучалва аалчаль, лучал одавар. Нимнакарва нимнакандяритын: Сиктэнэйвэ, Дёлонойво, Чинанай-адярайва, манекунма. Пэнривкэду эвиденкитын. Мария Петровна сомат эвинкин, иктэденкин пэнривкаду. Эткэн иктэн ачин. Эдын мэнын онкин. Нунан Юльдульгервэ, ивульвэ савки, аннудаи. Олонкол нонон диктыкер бичаль. Сэхэн кэтэкэкур сэхэргэсчэми.
Бутунну эвэдачидкитын. Эвэдыт радиоли сэхэргенкитын, калаканду радио иландярил аннаныльду биин. Орэтчель эвэнкиль кэтэ бихитын. Мальчикитав прокопий Николаевич биин - партияльду авалинкин. Бутуннульбэ эвэнкильвэ орорди нульгиденкин. Тарнаи орординюн бутуннувэ овкил. Сингилаев Николай Петрович судидянкин, судья. Ликбесил биитын, татканкитын эгдыльвэ-да уакарва-да. Абрамова Анна Васильевна кэргэнын орикичи биин, Ленингратту оренча. Мария Петровна ген этырканын нан Ленингратту оренча. Тарнаи Дуганов бандит, туальдяна, эвэнкильвэ гача биин, орордитын туандави, дебгэльви, ерви урувдотын. Могочиду япоал биитын тэли. Тадук орэкчэль эвэнкильбэ каиду тэвритын. Сингилаев Николай Петровичва нан сутту бучаль».
Translation: «Past Life»
My father and my mother were Nekotkar. They were born on Olekma near Tyana and arrived here in 1928. Spoke excellent Yakut! I've grown up here. Previously, local Evenki were registered in Chita Region (national). There was a district in Kalakan (center district was Kalakan).
Many Evenki of that time learnt it. Everything was in Yakut language. Today's Evenks try to seek after Russians as it will make them Russians. (meaning that they speak Russian) Nimngakany nimngakanili: about Siktenee, Delaunay, about Chinanae - monster, from the tribe of mango. Played vargan. Maria Petrovna played very (good), banged (playing) in the vargan. Now she has no teeth (for vargan playing is important to have good front teeth). Her husband made them himself (vargans). She knows a about Yuldulger, about Ivul (tales), ask her. Olonkho (nimgakanov) like many dove was. There are a lot of stories to tell.
Everybody spoke Evenki. Evenki was spoken on the radio; they already had it in Kalakan in the 30's. There were a lot of educated (literate) Evenki. Malchekitov Procopius Nikolaevich was in the Party work. He inspected the Evenki on reindeers. Everything was done with the reindeers then. Sigilaev Nikolai Petrovich was the judge. There was a literacy campaign. Literacy classes were taught with both children and adults. Abramova Anna Vasilyevna's husband was educated, studied in Leningrad. In those days, Duganov gunman escaping, captured the Evenki to use reindeers to escape with food and everything else. The Japanese were in Mogocha (train station). Then all educated (literate) Evenki were put in prison. Singilaev Nikolai Petrovich was also convicted» (Dictionary of Zheltulaksky.., 2010).
A lot of foreign language elements have penetrated in Evenki languages throughout the long history of its existence. It is not a negative fact; on the contrary, it enriches the language, making it more concise and expressive. Penetrating the Evenki, foreign language lexical units were reformed in accordance with the internal laws of development, they have changed the composition of the sound according to its phonetic system, if they had sounds not typical for Evenk phonetic system. They acquired new meanings, etc. Only
as a result of such reforming were they established in the Evenki language. From this reasons we can at least distinguish two principal ones. Firstly, the need to express the new meanings. Secondly, the need to update the lexical system, replacing old, lost expressiveness lexical units with new, more expressive. In the first case, lexical borrowings have no synonyms; in the second synonyms appear as a result of the borrowing.
Basic vocabulary of these dialects is represented by general Evenki vocabulary. However, a significant number of the Evenki, Yakut and Russian borrowings are used in the language.
The texts show that the Yakut lexical borrowings were subjected to the typical Evenki language phonetic development: 6yTyHHy < yak. 6yTyHHyy all, Eyтyннyflb6э < yak. Everybody, all, 6yтyннyвэ < yak. in all, altogether; rapreH < yak. rapraH family, opeHna < yak. y^Hro learned, KHxa^ra < yak. Kbiha^±a need, cэxэpгeнгкнн < yak. cэhэpгээннн usually told. About 17 Yakut lexical borrowing were found in 7 texts.
Analysis of language materials of given dialects shows: 1) Yakut borrowing entered into most thematic groups of Evenki language, 2) vocabulary includes Evenki Yakut borrowing reflecting a settled life; 3) in the lexicon of the Evenki, Yakut borrowing keep their main meaning. Evenki use loan words in their speech semantically correct.
When deciding on the development of the borrowing it is necessary to consider the process of assimilation of foreign words both in speech and in language.
To determine the level of development of foreign language borrowing in the speech of Amur Evenki the following features are relevant: reproducibility of foreign words (in written language - it is the number of word usage in the analyzed works: 12 cases of word usage
of Yakut in the texts of Seleindzinsk Evenki, Dzheltulakski Evenki - 17 cases. All informants use Yakut borrowings in their speech); semantic assimilation of foreign words - Evenki know the meanings of the loan words in spoken language; in spoken and written language Evenki understand and correctly use foreign-language polysemantic word, Evenki take many foreign words for «their own», «Evenki».
2) To determine the level of assimilation of foreign words in the language the following indicators are relevant:
- consolidation of loan words in dictionaries;
- semantic and stylistic development of loan words;
- number of meanings of polysemantic word;
- the nature of the interpretation of meanings (expansion or contraction of the meaning);
- the presence or absence of a figurative sense;
- the presence or absence of usage labels,
their characteristics. Relevant characteristics of loan words from Yakut language of Amur Evenki are clearly seen on the above examples: they put on the Evenki-Russian dictionary, mastered semantically correct, figurative words may have no more than two meanings, changing of the semantics of a small part of the nouns is either reduced to narrowing the meaning of the word or to an additional meanings of the word, which leads to some expansion of semantics, or changing the meaning of the word.
The time the borrowing of foreign words is not critical to the process of assimilating it in speech and language. To the degree of perception of the loan words as «theirs» the time of borrowing is much more relevant. But according to linguists the analysis of the fate of many foreign-language borrowings suggests that the word must be used in spoken and written language for at least 100 years for the ordinary native speakers not to feel its foreignness.
1 Small rural district in old Russia.
2 Turkic word for «tribute» that was used in Imperial Russia to designate fur tribute exacted from the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
References
1. Bulatova N.Y. Dialects of Evenks in Amur region. [Govory evenkov Amurskoi oblasti]. L., LO Nauka, 1987.
2. Vasilevich G.M. Essays of Evenks (Tungus) dialects. [Ocherki dialekti evenkij skogo (tungusskogo)] L., Uchpedgiz, 1948.
3. Parnikova A.S. About the settlement ofYakuts inXVII-XVIII// Siberia inXVII-XVIII. [O rasseleniji yakutov v XVII-XVIII vv.// Sibir' XVII-XVIII vv.] Publishing house of AS USSR. Novosibirsk, 1962.
4. Romanova A.V., Myreeva A.N., Barashkova P.P. Interaction between Evenk and Yakut language. [Vzaimovliyanije evenkijskogo i yakutskogo yazykov]L., Nauka, 1975.
5. Dictionary of Zheltulaksky dialect of Evenks in Amur region. Blagoveshchensk, BSPU pub., 2 vol., 2009, 2010.
6. Comparative dictionary of Tungusic languages. T. I-II// L., 1975, 1977.
7. Shcherbak A.M. Turkic-Mongolian communication in history of Mongolian languages. [Tursko-mongol'skije yazikovye kontakty v istoriji mongolskih yazikov] S-P.: Nauka, 2005.
О функционировании якутских заимствований в языке эвенков Амурской области (социолингвистический аспект)
К.Н. Стручков
Институт гуманитарных исследований и проблем малочисленных народов Севера СО РАН Россия 677007, Якутск, ул. Петровского, 1
Данная статья посвящена якутским лексическим заимствованиям, отражающим непосредственное контактирование эвенкийского языка с якутским, и их функционированию в социолингвистическом аспекте в фольклорных текстах эвенков Амурской области.
Ключевые слова: эвенкийский, якутский, заимствования, языковые контакты, фольклор, социолингвистический.
Работа выполнена в рамках исследований, финансируемых Красноярским краевым фондом поддержки научной и научно-технической деятельности, а также в рамках тематического плана СФУ по заданию Министерства образования и науки Российской Федерации.
