Astrakhan Russian () is an
umbrella term
Hypernymy and hyponymy are the wikt:Wiktionary:Semantic relations, semantic relations between a generic term (''hypernym'') and a more specific term (''hyponym''). The hypernym is also called a ''supertype'', ''umbrella term'', or ''blanket term ...
for the
regional varieties of the
Russian language
Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...
spoken in
Astrakhan Oblast
Astrakhan Oblast (; ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southern Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,010,073.
Geography
Astrakhan's southern border is the ...
, a
federal subject
The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...
of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Astrakhan Oblast is one of the most diverse parts of the country in terms of ethnic groups and languages. The major groups are
ethnic Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
(61% of the population),
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...
(17%) and
Tatars
Tatars ( )[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
(7%), but many others are also present and influence the shared local identity, culture and language varieties.
Being a regional rather than linguistic unity, Astrakhan Russian is a term for a broad group of dialects varying between speakers depending on their ethnicity, native language, age, education, occupation, location within the region and other social factors. Nevertheless, they share certain traits and can be grouped into a few categories.
The main divide is that between Russians and people of other ethnic groups, as the speech of the latter is influenced by the vernacular languages of their communities. Astrakhan Russian as spoken by Kazakh people is noticeably influenced by the
Kazakh language
Kazakh is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia by Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak. It is the official language of Kazakhstan, and has official status in the Altai Republic of Russia ...
on most levels, and this is not limited to native Kazakh speakers. It is not uncommon for people of minority background to grow up in an ethnically and linguistically diverse town or city in the region speaking only Russian, but their Russian typically still has traces of their
heritage language
A heritage language is a minority language (either immigrant or indigenous) learned by its speakers at home as children, and difficult to be fully developed because of insufficient input from the social environment. The speakers grow up with a ...
.
Vocabulary
One of the things that unite Astrakhan Russian speakers of all ethnic backgrounds is a group of local words that do not exist in standard Russian and other
Russian dialects
Russian dialects are spoken variants of the Russian language.
Russian dialects and territorial varieties are divided in two conceptual chronological and geographic categories:Tomasz Kamusella, Kamusella, Tomasz. (2018). Russian: A Monocentric or ...
or have different meanings in them. In many cases these words originate from
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...
. Here are some examples:
* () 'crow'; this word exists in standard Russian and most Russian dialects, but only as a pejorative way to refer to an elderly woman. Its origin in Astrakhan Russian and other dialects is the same, both words come from Turkic 'crow', but Astrakhan Russian preserved its original meaning, whereas other varieties only use it as a metaphor;
* () 'untidy person'; this word originates from Kazakh 'pig'. A similar word exists in other Russian dialects, but stress falls on the other syllable (second in Astrakhan, first elsewhere), and the meanings vary;
* () 'eggplant'; origin unknown;
* () 'gathering (of family or friends)'; unique to Astrakhan Russian, Turkic origin;
* () 'small river'; this word exists in standard Russian but originates from the Astrakhan region; Turkic origin;
* () 'small desert lake'; unique to Astrakhan Russian as a
common noun
In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an object or subject within a phrase, clause, or sentence.Example n ...
, only exists elsewhere as a
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...
.
* () 'lotus flower'; unique to Astrakhan Russian, origin unknown;
* () 'puddle'; unique to Astrakhan Russian, possibly Turkic origin.
See also
*
Varieties of the Russian language
References
Literature
* Kondrashova, Olga (2014
Dialektizmy Astrahanskoj oblasti
* Losev, Gennady & Kirokosian, Mihail (2007) Astrahanskie slovečki. Astrahan: Čilim. 260 p.
{{authority control
History of Astrakhan Oblast
Languages of Russia
Russian dialects