Ways of Development of Slavic Onomastic Lexicography: An Analytical Overview

Abstract

The article examines the history and current state of onomastic lexicography in the Slavic countries. The study is driven by the importance of collecting data on Slavic dictionaries of proper names for in-depth research on the theory of Slavic onomastics including comparative studies based on onomastic material of several closely related languages. The purpose of this analytical review is to summarize and evaluate the experience of the lexicographic description of proper names developed in the Slavic countries. The introductory part of the article deals with general problems of the lexicography of proper names. This includes an overview of studies on lexicographic descriptions of onyms in Russia, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Some references are made on Slavic onomastic dictionaries published in other countries, primarily in Germany. Dictionaries are grouped by their nature (historical and etymological, normative, linguocultural, dictionaries of an author’s language) and by name types they study (place names, personal names, animal names, etc.). There is also a description of mixed type onomastic dictionaries based on several typological principles, and some new types of dictionaries and lexicographic projects to be published. The authors evaluate contribution made by lexicography experts in different Slavic countries in the development of the research. Special mention is made of the role of Russian onomastic lexicography against the background of other Slavic languages. The final part of the article discusses prospects for the development of Slavic onomastic lexicography requiring collaborative efforts of lexicographers from several Slavic countries.