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Implementation of Comparative Features in Comparative Tropes with Dendronyms in Modern Udmurt // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023. Issue 4 (42). P. 23-33

This paper deals with the identification of the comparative features used for dendronyms in the structure of comparative tropes in modern Udmurt. Based on the analysis of linguistic material from the electronic corpus of the Udmurt language, the semantic meanings of stereotypical comparative images containing the “names of trees” were outlined, and stable semantic connotations of dendronyms were revealed. According to the study’s results, the lexeme badyar ‘maple’ has the broadest semantic meanings; overall, most tree names express single semantic connotations. When considering the semantic features of comparative tropes with dendronyms, the following groups of comparative features were found to form a significant part of the linguistic and conceptual picture of the world of the native Udmurt speaker: (a) Ideas about a person’s appearance, physique, growth and development, health, physical features: Тазалыкез тыпы кадь юн «His health is as strong as an oak tree»; Вож бадяр кадь мугорыз лабрес беризьлы укшаны ӧдъяз «His body, which resembled a green maple, became like a spreading linden tree»; b) Ideas about a person as a representative of society, as a bearer of social functions: Мар со лыктэм нылмурт бордад сирпу кадь лякиське? «Why does this guest girl stick to you like an elm tree?»; c) According to the analysis of the collected material, comparative constructions with dendronyms are rarely used to represent the idea of a person’s character and moral qualities. At the same time, other groups of phytonyms are much more common in this group of comparative constructions: Сямыз ӟег нянь но тӥни. Literal translation: «By nature, it is rye bread (type)»; Небӟем губи тон, Аркаш. Ас кышнодэ но кияд кутэмед уг луы «You’re like a rotten mushroom, Arkady (soft-hearted). You can’t even handle your wife». From the analysis of comparative tropes, which contain tree names in their structure, it can be concluded that this vocabulary group has an important axiological status, reflecting centuries-old life experiences and observations of the surrounding nature.

Keywords: Udmurt language, comparative tropes, dendronyms, phytonyms, signs of comparison