Zoonyms from the Vilnius Region as a reflection of linguistic and cultural contacts

Abstract

The issue of nomenclature for mixed breed animals has been taken up by Polish researchers many times and its significance for onomastic and dialectal research has been emphasised often enough. With respect to the North-Eastern Borderlands, sparse studies have been dedicated to it so far. Therefore, this paper discusses linguistic and cultural contacts reflected in proper names of two species of mixed breed animals in the Vilnius Region. The material was collected using the traditional and online survey method. This article presents the phonetic and morphological characteristics typical of the Polish of the Borderlands, lexical features, and nomenclature influences that were discovered while analysing zoonyms. It discusses the influences of the Lithuanian, Russian, and Belarusian languages on the nomenclature for animals living in households of people of Polish descent in the Vilnius Region