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Irina Vasilyevna Kryukova
Vasily Ivanovich Suprun
Volgograd State Socio-Pedagogical University, Volgograd, Russia
HOMO SPECTANS IN THE MIRROR OF REGIONAL OIKONYMY
(Based on Settlement Names of the Volgograd Region)
For citation
Kryukova, I. V., & Suprun, V. I. (2026). Homo Spectans in the Mirror of Regional Oikonymy (Based on Settlement Names of the Volgograd Region). Voprosy onomastiki, 23(1), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.15826/vopr_onom.2026.23.1.007
Received on 29 May 2025
Accepted on 30 September 2025
Abstract: This article examines regional features of oikonyms that reflect the perspective of the nominator as a contemplative observer. The study complements previous findings concerning the image of the nominator as an active agent. The approach adopted here aligns with the anthropocentric trend that has been actively developing in Russian toponymic studies, which focuses on how people perceive and conceptualize the surrounding space within particular regions, such as the Russian North, the Urals, Siberia, and, to some extent, Central Russia. By contrast, the toponymy of southern Russia has received little attention from this perspective. The material for the study consists of 530 official oikonyms of the Volgograd Region that reflect the worldview of the contemplative observer (35.5% of the total number of regional oikonyms). Based on the notion of an “object of contemplation,” three semantic and motivational groups of oikonyms are identified, each comprising several subgroups. These groups are analysed in order of decreasing frequency. The first group includes names that highlight water bodies as a key feature of local life: (1) oikonyms derived from hydronyms, and (2) names formed from hydrographic terms and common nouns belonging to the semantic field “river, water.” The second group comprises oikonyms that characterize the location of a settlement within specific geographical conditions shaping the quality of life in the region: (1) relief features, (2) soil quality, (3) vegetation, and (4) fauna. The third group includes oikonyms that describe the settlement itself: (1) in relation to other settlements, (2) independently of other settlements, and (3) in terms of the emotional or aesthetic evaluation of the settlement. The results contribute to the broader scholarly discussion of how features of human perception of the surrounding world are reflected in the toponymy of a regional microsociety.
Keywords: regional toponymy; oikonymy; Volgograd region; nominator; semantic-motivational group; structural model
Acknowledgements
The publication was prepared based on the results of a study within the framework of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation and the Administration of the Volgograd Region, project No. 25-28-20081 The image of a person in the mirror of regional toponymy (based on the names of settlements in the Volgograd region), https://rscf.ru/en/project/25-28-20081.
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