Официальные и «вторые» имена этнических тувинцев Монголии

Abstract

Introduction. The article analyzes personal names and nicknames of Mongolia’s ethnic Tuvans which is an understudied ― though topical ― issue of contemporary Tuvan onomastics. The ‘second’ names contain data about old and modern culture of foreign Tuvans, and particularly that of Mongolia-based ones. Goals. The article primarily seeks to identify official, ‘home’, and ‘paired’ names (i.e. nicknames) of Tuvans residing in Western Mongolia. To date, this aspect of Tuvan linguistics has been no object of any special scientific research. So, the work can fill the gap, and facilitate further development of Tuvan onomastics in general. Materials. The paper analyzes personal names and ‘second’ names collected by the author during field research in Bayan-Olgii and Khovd Provinces of Mongolia inhabited by ethnic Tuvans. Results. The analysis of personal names and nicknames concludes that the official documents of the latter mention personal names of Tibetan-Mongolian origin, while in everyday life they actually use ‘second’ names that deal with the history, customs and traditions of their ancestors. In the past, both essentially Tuvan and Tibetan-Mongolian names served as ‘household’ and ‘paired’ ones, while the current period witnesses the additional use of hypocoristic forms which is a novelty to name-giving practices of Mongolia’s Tuvans.