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Anthropocentric Semantic Change in Yakut and Old Altaic Color Names // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2024. Issue 1 (43). P. 44-52

So far, the semantics of Yakut and Altaic color names have not been analyzed from the anthropocentric perspective of semantic change. The study aims to show the universal and ethnic peculiarities in the semantic divergence and convergence of Yakut and Altaic color names. The analysis of the semantic structure of basic color lexemes in Yakut and Altaic languages revealed both common and specific features. Both Yakut and Altaic color names develop derivational-referential, figurative, and phraseological meanings as a result of divergent and convergent development and expansion of semantics. For the first time, the semantic divergence and convergence in Yakut and Altaic color names are examined. The analysis of lexical and phraseological polysemy shows divergence and convergence in the semantic change of lexical units. The anthropocentrism of semantic change in Yakut and Altaic color names is revealed when phrasemes develop a figurative meaning due to structural separability, and complete or partial reinterpretation of their constituents. The general research method is inductiondeduction, and the linguistic methods include componential analysis, the method of phraseological identification, and the comparative analysis of Yakut and Altaic color names. The analysis of dictionary entries in lexicographic and phraseographic sources was used to describe the semantic structure of lexical and phraseological units. It was found that Yakut and Altaic, as related languages, have more universal than ethnically specific color names, as they both belong to the Eastern Hun branch of the Turkic language, while ethnically specific color names are determined by lifestyle and climate. The continuous accumulation of research material on related and unrelated languages and the breakthroughs in information technology keep the interest in the further development of this problem alive. The research material can be used in theoretical lectures and practical courses on comparative linguistics.

Keywords: anthropocentrism, color names, Yakut, Altai, lexical and phraseological unit, divergence and convergence of semantic change

Divergence of Semantic Trasnfer in Yakut Polysemantic Archaisms // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2026. Issue 1 (51). P. 40-48

One of the core issues in modern linguistics is linguistic variation. Language, as a complex dynamic system, is constantly evolving and changing. Changes in socio-political, economic, cultural, scientific, and technological spheres are inevitably reflected in language. The lexicon develops most intensively because extralinguistic factors exert greater influence on it than on other layers of language. Polysemy is a linguistic universal and an integral part of language. Words and phraseological units form a universal basis for the development of polysemy, as nearly any linguistic unit can acquire new meanings. Since Yakut archaisms have not been the subject of a comprehensive linguistic and cognitive study, this investigation constitutes a preliminary attempt in this area and opens a new research field. The subject of this research is the category of polysemy in Yakut archaisms, which exhibits a specific structure of divergent semantic transfer of linguistic units. The purpose of the research is to study the divergent direction of semantic transfer in polysemantic archaisms in Yakut. The objectives of the study include reviewing and analyzing existing literature on archaic vocabulary and polysemantic words; determining the semantic structure of archaisms; classifying archaic vocabulary into lexico-semantic groups; and defining the direction of divergent transfer in Yakut polysemantic archaisms. We use componential and conceptual analysis methods. To reveal the semantic structure of archaisms, we conducted dictionary-definition analysis. The general research method is inductive-deductive. The dominant source of semantic transfer in the analyzed Yakut linguistic units is material reality. The primary recipient semantic areas are anthropological conceptual spheres, especially ‘characteristics of man,’ ‘emotional state,’ ‘spatial object,’ ‘natural phenomenon,’ ‘abstract notions,’ ‘interpersonal relationships,’ and ‘intellectual characteristics.’

Keywords: Yakut language, semantics, polysemy, archaic vocabulary, indirect meaning, concept