Circassian (Adyghe) Landscape Terminology and Toponymy in Folklore Texts and Vernacular Communication

Abstract

The article explores Adyghe (Circassian) landscape terminology and folklore toponymy, areas that have received limited attention in onomastics. It presents a pioneering analysis within Adyghe linguistics and folklore research, examining the peculiarities of geographical terms and toponyms in stereotypical oral texts, including traditional folklore and everyday speech practices. The study is based on data from the folklore subcorpus of the Adyghe linguistic corpus, compiled in 2022 by Adyghe State University researchers, comprising published materials and field data collected from Adyghe (Circassian) communities in the Republic of Adygea, Krasnodar Region, and the Circassian diaspora in Turkey. Additionally, materials from folklore and ethnographic archives of the Republic of Adygea, along with information extracted from personal archives and field records, are analysed. Based on this data, the authors identify fundamental models governing the formation and usage of terms and toponyms, both within the context of folklore landscape studies and in relation to real geographical features and cultural settings. The focus is primarily on lexemes commonly encountered in historical Circassia, such as ps(y) ‘water, river,’ xy ‘sea, gully,’ ko/kue ‘ravine, river,’ bgy ‘hill, mountain, peak, ridge, steep, cliff,’ kushxe/kushhx`e` ‘mountain,’ txy` ‘elevation, ridge, crest of the mountain,’ Iuashxe/Iuashhxe ‘mound, hill,’ and xe`ku ‘region, homeland, fatherland, edge, country, state’. Through corpus research and discourse analysis methods, the study examines the representation of both real and mythical landscape objects in epic texts and speech practices. The productivity of toponyms’ usage and their semantics are established by comparing data from early lexicographic sources with new archival and field materials. The article also illustrates how, in new linguistic contexts, such as the Circassian diaspora in Central Anatolia, the unofficial local map coexists with the administrative Turkish-language map, showcasing differences in landscape terminology frequency based on the presence or absence of specific geographical features.