Kalmyk meteorological vocabulary of the off-season in comparison with closely related languages

Abstract

Kalmyk meteorological vocabulary related to lifestyle, environment and mentality belongs to the primordial stratum, as in other closely related languages of the Altai family. The commonality of the grammatical foundations of this vocabulary is confirmed by lexicographic data recorded in old Mongolian, Kalmyk and Turkic sources. The object of the study is nominative units (words, phrases and phraseological units) in the Kalmyk language, denoting the weather phenomena of the off-season. Special attention is paid to the meteorological vocabulary of the off-season of the autumn-winter intermediate period. The relevance of this study is related to the study of meteorological vocabulary in the Kalmyk language, the identification of the features of the linguistic picture of the world of the people as a whole and its influence on vocabulary. The linguistic and cultural analysis of meteorological vocabulary makes it possible to consider the life and culture of the Kalmyk people. This article uses a descriptive method, a comparative method, a method of linguistic and cultural analysis of lexical units. The meteorological vocabulary of the off-season is considered in this article taking into account the modern linguistic and cultural orientation and is presented in the aspect of an interdisciplinary category: a) the role of this phenomenon in human life (natural landmarks and human locations); b) the vocabulary of the off-season and related human economic activity; c) the comparative and evaluative feature of the use of this vocabulary in oral and written samples in the languages under consideration. The Kalmyk meteorological vocabulary of the off-season is an independent integral category that is present in all Mongolian and Turkic languages, recorded in old-written sources and has retained its original meaning in the modern Kalmyk language. This vocabulary reflects the peculiarities of the linguistic picture of the world and worldview, the specifics of the way of life and the inner world of the Kalmyks and is universal for other closely related peoples belonging to the Altai linguistic community.