Floristic lexicon of Erzya-Mordovian dialects of the samara Trans-Volga region: names of trees

Belenov N. V.

The article introduces into scientific circulation and analyzes part of the floristic lexicon of the Erzya-Mordovian dialects of the Samara Trans-Volga region: the names of wild and garden trees. Variations of the elements of this lexical cluster in the Erzya-Mordovian dialects of the region are presented, and their comparative analysis is carried out with the corresponding material of the Erzya-Mordovian and Moksha-Mordovian dialects of other territories. The most stable floronyms for the Erzya-Mordovian dialects of the region are identified, these are the names of birch, oak, willow and aspen, which is probably due to the significance of these tree species for the Mordovian traditional worldview and Mordovian culture. The issues of semantic evolution of floristic terms in the studied dialects, the causes of semantic transitions are considered. The article is based on the author's field materials obtained during the 2017-2020 seasons.

Keywords:floral lexicon, the Mordovian languages, Erzya-Mordovian language, Samara Trans-Volga region