In Helsinki University on the 11th of May will be held a dissertation defense on the theme "The South-Eastern Finno-Ugric Language Contact Zone in Light of Onomastic Data." Dissertation author Pauli Rahkonen, will be opposed by Philology PhD, and Director of the Institute of Language, Literature and History of Karelian Research Center RAN, Irma Mullonen, a discussion, which will be chaired by Helsinki University Professor Janne Saarikivi. Professor Juha Janhunen will represent the dissertator's department, as was reported to Infocenter FINUGOR in the Company of M. A. Kastren (Finland).
As the author of the study notes, his work is tied to the interconnectedness of the Balto-Finnic languages and Moksha and Erzya, which are analyzed by studying the phonetic and lexical features of place names on the territory where ancient forms of languages of the Uralic language family were distributed.
Old Russian chronicles mention among the Finno-Ugrics such peoples as the Chudes, Merya, Muromians, and Meshcherians. In the study were analyzed data on the population of the indicated peoples and their languages. Also, the author of the dissertation shows the existence of an ancient Uralic language, never before discussed, which existed on the territories of present day Finland, Karelia, and the North-West region, which should be studied alongside with other extinct Finno-Ugric languages.
The dissertator widely juxtaposes onomastic data with archeological findings, finding a confirmation of his conclusions in them.
*** Onomastics (from the ancient Greek ὀνομαστική, onomastiké) is a branch of linguistic that studies proper names of all kinds and their origin and transformations as a result of prolonged use in the source language or in connection with its borrowing by other languages now spoken in the area. Onomastic studies help to identify migration routes and former settlements of various peoples, language and cultural contacts, more ancient forms of currently existing languages, and interaction between their dialects. Studies of place names are of immense importance due to the specific laws of their transfer and preservation.