Linguistic Representation of the French Ideas About the Ethnicity of the Peoples of Russia (a Case Study of the Memoirs of French Authors of the XVI–XVII Centuries)

Abstract

A linguistic representation of ethnic ideas of the French about the peoples of the Russian territories which were formed in the initial period of Russian-French cultural contacts are considered in the article. The material of the study is written French-language documentary records about the representatives of Russia of the XVI–XVII centuries. The research is carried out taking into account the main approaches to understanding the phenomenon of ethnicity, developed by Russian and foreign scholars of the XX–XXI centuries. The presence of shared ideas of the members of the ethnic community about the common origin, language, material and spiritual culture, the recognition of the important role of ethnic identity for the self- expression of the community and its recognition by others are taken into consideration. As a result of the analysis of the material, the following ethnic characteristics of the peoples of Russia were noted: language, territories of settlement, behavior patterns, religion, clothing, appearance. The main features of the formation of ethnic ideas of the French about the ethnic communities inhabiting Russia were also identified, such as: background knowledge of large ethnic groups whose names were reflected on the European maps; differentiation of known ethnic communities into sub-ethnic groups; special attention to peoples who successfully master military techniques; uncertainty in determining the ethnicity of a group; substitution of ethnic identity for regional; interest in areas of interaction between ethnic groups. The specificities of the formation of ethnic representations are reflected in the language in the following processes: adaptation of the French orthography of the ethnonym to the acoustic form of the Russian word; expansion of the list of ethnonymic lexemes, taking into account the differentiation into sub-ethnic groups; creation of ethnonyms-occasionalisms; use of ethnically unmarked substitutes instead of ethnonyms.

References

1. Alekseev M.P. 1983. Sravnitel’noe literaturovedenie [Comparative Literature Studies]. Leningrad, Nauka. (In Russ.)

2. Arutyunyan Yu.V., Drobizheva L.M., Susokolov A.A. 1999. Etnosotsiologiya. Uchebnoe posobie dlya vuzov [Ethnosociology. Textbook for universities]. Moscow, Aspekt press. (In Russ.)

3. Dorzhieva G.S. 2008. Kontsept “Severnost’” v regional’noi toponimii Kvebeka [The concept of “Northernness” in the regional toponymy of Quebec]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, no. 1, pp. 145–156. (In Russ.)

4. Zagrjazkina T.Ju. 2012. Antropologiya prostranstva [Anthropology of space]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, no. 4, pp. 9–29. (In Russ.)

5. Zagryazkina T.Yu. 2019. Fenomen Frankofonii: ot universalizma k kul’turnomu raznoobraziyu [The phenomenon of Francophonie: from universalism to cultural diversity]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, no. 2, pp. 9–23. (In Russ.)

6. Novaja filosofskaja jenciklopedija [The New Philosophical Encyclopedia]. 2010. In Stepin V.S. (ed.), vol. 4. Moscow, Mysl’. (In Russ.)

7. Sirotkina T.A. 2018. Etnonimiya mnogonatsional’nogo regiona kak zerkalo natsional’noi identichnosti [Ethnonymy of a Multinational region as a mirror of National Identity]. In Kotlyakov V.M. (ed.) Voprosy geografii. Sb.146. Aktual’nye problemy toponimiki [Questions of geography. Pub. 146. Actual problems of toponymy]. Moscow, Kodeks. (In Russ.)

8. Stepanov Yu.S. 2004. Konstanty: Slovar’ russkoi kul’tury [Constants: Dictionary of Russian Culture]. Moscow, Akademicheskii proekt. (In Russ.)

9. Tishkov V.A. 2016. Ot etnosa k etnichnosti i posle [From ethnos to ethnicity and after]. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie, no. 5, pp. 5–22. (In Russ.)

10. Margeret (Capitaine), Chevreul H. 1860. Estat de l`Empire de Russie et grande duché de Moscovie. Paris, Chez le Potier.

11. Le Robert Micro dictionnaire de 1` apprentissage de la langue française. 1998. In Rey A. (ed.). Montreal Canada, Robert.

12. Vianey B. 2012. Tout autour du voyage de Jean Sauvage en Moscovie en 1586. Moscow, Tezaurus.