Zoonyms denoting deer in the Altai linguistic culture

The article is devoted to the linguistic and cultural specificity of zoonyms denoting reindeer family members (sygyn ‘deer, deer’ and bulan ‘elk’) in the Altai culture. A case study of artistic and folklore texts and field materials allowed the phonetic, dialect, lexical-semantic, folklore, and ethnographic features of zoonyms denoting deer animals in the Altai language and folklore to be identified for the first time. The cultural stereotypes of the Altai people about deer are closely related to hunting customs and traditions. In hunting folklore, reindeer family members have a sacred meaning: they are considered sacred animals of Altai, the personification of the master spirit of Altai. In this context, a complete system of prohibitions and taboos has been formulated within the realm of hunting ethics. In the fiction of the Altai people, the deer and elk became animal characters of hunting stories and are also used for comparisons and metaphorical allegories about humans. In folklore and artistic texts, the denotative features of zoonyms characterize the features of the body structure or color, the habitat of these wild animals. The connotations associated with these zoonyms serve as a reflection of a person’s moral and ethical character. In the linguistic consciousness of native speakers of the Altai language and culture, deer and elk are associated with male strength and courage. The participation of zoonyms-reindeer in the conceptualization of spatial and temporal concepts is presented in chrononyms (sygyn ai ‘month of deer’) and toponyms indicating the habitat of moose and deer (for example, Bulandu ‘with moose’).