Fishing Vocabulary: A Comparative Analysis Based on Bashkir and Tuvan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.2.11Keywords:
comparative analysis, fishing vocabulary, ichthyonym, fishing gear, Bashkir language, Tuvan language, Common Turkic lexicon, traditional fisheryAbstract
The article presents a comparative analysis of fishing vocabulary in two Turkic languages: Bashkir and Tuvan. The study is driven by the need to identify archaic layers and innovations in related, yet geographically and culturally distant, languages, which makes it possible to minimize the impact of recent interlingual contacts. Its relevance is determined by the effort to fill an existing gap in Turkology, as well as by the task of documenting rapidly obsolescing terminology associated with traditional economic practices.
A comparative analysis of ichthyonymic vocabulary has revealed a substantial Common Turkic layer (e.g., “shortan” / “surtan” ‘pike’, “ala-buga” / “alabugha” ‘perch’), which confirms deep historical and cultural unity. At the same time, the study identifies semantic divergences within shared lexical bases (cf. “ak-balyk” / “aqbalyq” meaning ‘ide, whitefish’ in Tuvan and ‘beloribitsa, “tsar-fish”’ in Bashkir), as well as unique nominations reflecting adaptation to local ecologies. The principles used to classify key objects of fishing (such as grayling) demonstrate a high degree of differentiation by age, size, colour, and habitat. An analysis of terms denoting tools and methods of fishing has shown typological similarity in the terminology of archaic gear (rod — “syyrtkyysh” / “qarmaq”, spear — “seree” / “haldau”, fyke/net trap — “syugen” / “murza”), indicating a shared basis of fishing technologies. The study also reveals specific differences determined by ecological factors, such as unique devices (the Bashkir live-bait rig surtanlyq, the Tuvan leather trap tulup) and the exceptional richness of dialectal nomenclature.
It is concluded that the fishing lexicon sharply reflects both diachronic unity (the Common Turkic stock) and synchronic diversity (autochthonous innovations), serving as a valuable source for reconstructing the historical development of Turkic languages and traditional economic–cultural types in contrasting natural environments.
References
Aitazin, K. (1973) Some fish names. In: Local features in the Kazakh language. Ed. by S. K. Kenesbaev. Alma-Ata, Nauka. 202 p. Pp. 136–148. (In Russ.)
Byatikova, O. N. (2010) Historical-comparative analysis of some ichthionyms. Vestnik Kazanskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta kultury i iskusstv, no. 3, pp. 78–81. (In Russ.)
Vainshtein, S. I. (1961) The Tofalar (Todzhin Tuvans): Historical and ethnographic essays. Moscow, Izdatelstvo vostochnoi literatury. 218 p. (In Russ.)
Galimova, O. N. (2025) Systems of ichthionyms in Tatar and Tuvan. New Research of Tuva, no. 3, pp. 333–351. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2025.3.20
Darzha, V. K. (2009) Traditional male occupations of the Tuvans: economy, hunting, fishing. Kyzyl, Tuvan Book Publishing House. 592 p. (In Russ.)
Kutlubaeva, R. F. and Abdullina, G. R. (2016) Ichthionyms in the Bashkir language. Simvol nauki, no. 11–4, pp. 41–42. (In Russ.)
Kuular, E. M. (2016a) Ichthionyms in the dialects of the Tuvan language: a comparative aspect. Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki, no. 8–2 (62), pp. 105–108. (In Russ.)
Kuular, E. M. (2016b) Vocabulary of traditional fishing gear and methods in the dialects of the Tuvan language. Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki, no. 12–3 (66), pp. 125–127. (In Russ.)
Kuular, E. M. and Suvandii, N. D. (2011) Hunting and fishing vocabulary of the western dialect of the Tuvan language. In: Nauchnye trudy Tuvinskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ed. by O. M. Khomushku. Kyzyl, RIO TuvGU. 203 p. Pp. 137–139. (In Russ.)
Mullagulov, M. G. (2014) Archaic economic practices of the Bashkirs: traditions and innovations. Ufa, Kitap. 176 p. (In Russ.)
Nafikov, Sh. V. (1982) Age differentiation in fish names in the Bashkir language. In: Problems in the study of Bashkir literary, journalistic and folklore sources. Ed. by E. F. Ishberdin. Ufa, Bashkir Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 114 p. Pp. 110–113. (In Russ.)
Nafikov, Sh. V. (1983) On defining the semantic structure of fish names in the Bashkir language. In: Issues of lexicology and lexicography of the Bashkir language: collection of articles. Ed. by Z. G. Uraksin. Ufa, Bashkir Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 128 p. Pp. 55–59. (In Russ.)
Nafikov, Sh. V. (1984) Loanwords in the ichthionyms of the Bashkir language. In: Source studies in Bashkir philology. Ed. by I. G. Galyautdinov. Ufa, Bashkir Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 98 p. Pp. 75–80. (In Russ.)
Rassadin, V. I. (2008) The complex of hunting and fishing vocabulary in the Sayan Turkic languages of the taiga area. In: The natural environment and material culture of Proto-Turkic peoples. Ed. by A. V. Dybo. Moscow, Vostochnaya literatura. 341 p. Pp. 155–194. (In Russ.)
Rakhimova, A. R. (2001) Vocabulary of the dialects of Siberian Tatars (a comparative-historical analysis of fishing and economic vocabulary). Kazan, MasterLain. 128 p. (In Russ.)
Rudenko, S. I. (1955) The Bashkirs: Historical and ethnographic essays. Moscow, Leningrad, Izdatelstvo Akademii nauk SSSR. 402 p. (In Russ.)
Safina, E. I. (2025) Common Turkic ornithonyms in Tatar and Tuvan (an ethnolinguistic aspect). New Research of Tuva, no. 3, pp. 352–370. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2025.3.21
Sravnitelno-istoricheskaya grammatika tyurkskikh yazykov. Leksika (2001) Comparative-historical grammar of Turkic languages. Lexicon. Ed. by E. R. Tenishev. Moscow, Nauka. 821 p. (In Russ.)
Suvandii, N. D. (2014) Fishing vocabulary in the western dialect of the Tuvan language. Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki, no. 12 (42), pp. 164–166. (In Russ.)
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
How to Cite
For citation:
Abdullina G. R. and Alimbayeva G. G. Fishing Vocabulary: A Comparative Analysis Based on Bashkir and Tuvan. New Research of Tuva, 2026, no. 2, pp. 162-175. (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.2.11
Author Biographies
-
Gulfira R. Abdullina Ufa University of Science and Technology
Doctor of Philology, Professor, Head, Department of Oriental Studies and Bashkir Linguistics, Dean, Faculty of Bashkir Philology, Oriental Studies and Journalism, Ufa University of Science and Technology.
Postal address: 32 Zaki Validi St., 450076, Russia, Ufa.
E-mail: abguri@yandex.ru
-
Gulshayan G. Alimbayeva Ufa University of Science and Technology
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Oriental Studies and Bashkir Linguistics, Ufa University of Science and Technology.
Postal address: 32 Zaki Validi St., 450076, Russia, Ufa.
E-mail: alimbaewa5@mail.ru
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Author(s) license holder(s) grant rights for their work to the journal (grantee of a license) under the simple non-exclusive open license in accordance with Art. 1286.1 «Open license for a research work, work of literature or fine arts», Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
New Research of Tuva publishes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license (CC BY-NC).
Since it is an open license, author(s) reserve the right to upload the article to their institutional repository, submit it to another journal (if it allows republications), or republish it on their own website (in full, or in part).
However, several conditions apply here:
a) The republished version must always contain the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s), the original title and the hyperlink to the original version on the New Research of Tuva website;
b) It must be in open access, free of charge, and no category of readers must be in any way whatsoever advantaged over general readership.
c) should the contribution be submitted elsewhere by its author(s) without substantial modification (30% or more of original text unchanged), the body of the article should contain a disclaimer that the original version was published in New Research of Tuva (with a link to the respective page)
The CC-BY-NC is a non-revocable license which applies worldwide and lasts for the duration of the work’s copyright.
