The Stable Vocabulary of the Altai Language and its Northern Dialects

Abstract

The article presents a study of a stable vocabulary (The Leipzig-Jakarta list). The work examines the lexical fund of the Altai language in comparison with its northern dialects. The research reveals common and different elements in the analyzed material. Dictionaries of the Altai language and its northern dialects served as sources of the analyzed material. Dictionaries, which are presented in monographs on the northern dialects of the Altai language of N.A. Baskakov, are also used. It should be noted that in the works on northern dialects there is often a phonetic variation in the graphic appearance of words in one or another dialect, which is explained by the fact that the languages of the speakers of these dialects are not standardized. The spelling of words reflects the pronunciation, recorded in different speakers of the same dialect. The materials on the northern dialects are characterized by the use of different graphemes to denote the same sounds. The northern dialects of the Altai language include the tuba dialect, Chalkan (Chelkan) and Kumandin dialects. Their speakers are currently called Tubalars, Chelkans (Chalkans) and Kumandins, respectively. The traditional place of residence of these ethnic groups of Altai is the northern part of the Altai Republic. Significant part of the Kumandins also lives in the areas near the border of the Altai Republic close to the Altai Krai. The Tubalars, Chelkans and Kumandins received the status of indigenous peoples. The language, life and traditions of the northern Altai people have their own characteristics that distinguish them from the southern Altai people. The northern dialects of the Altai language are characterized by the fact that in their vocabulary there are more Turkic elements than in the South Altai dialects that are preserved since ancient times.