Semantic continuity between ancient and modern anthroponyms

Abstract

Personal names represent a linguistic phenomenon that has existed alongside human history. Analyzing their nature reveals a wealth of historical and cultural information. Notably, signs of cognition and belief retain their meaning across eras, serving as a foundation for historical continuity. For example, ancient names such as Baraq, Itemgen, and Itbai transformed into Amandyk, Turar, and Toktar as cultural perspectives evolved. The semantic meaning of names in both groups remains nearly identical, conveying the wish for the child’s well-being. While the form of these names has changed, their ancient meaning has endured to the present day. This connection is referred to as “semantic continuity.” In addition to this, phenomena such as “morphological continuity” and “lexical continuity” also link the old and the new. However, this article focuses specifically on semantic continuity.

The semantic link between personal names preserved in ancient Turkic written monuments and those in modern Turkic languages, including Kazakh, manifests in various ways. In the article, this type of continuity is classified into the following categories: “continuity of archaic name forms,” “continuity between ancient and modern forms,” and “continuity through the revival of historical names.” Historical transformations of each era and the cultural-economic interactions among peoples influence not only the lexical composition of names but also their meanings. This influence occurs through precedent phenomena, the conceptual and semantic peculiarities of languages that borrow from one another, the renewal of cultural perspectives in society, and other factors. Based on these considerations, the article systematizes the evolutionary development of semantic processes inherent to the history and nature of anthroponyms, providing well-substantiated examples to illustrate these dynamics.