Toponymic Landscape of Central Yakutia: Etymological Analysis of Geographical Names

The article focuses on the attempts of reconstructing the process of exploration of Central Yakutia on the example of the Khangalassky region in different time periods and by various tribes.As a result, the etymological analysis of toponyms of the territory under research allowed to reveal several layers of ethnic impact, as well as traces left by different ethnic groups in the course of exploration of the territory.Modern geographical sciences (human geography in particular) demonstrate interest in the nature of relations between humans and environment, and the problems of landscape ontology as a source of a wide range of socio-humanistic knowledge.Moreover, the issues of etymology of toponyms in the Yakut language have not been studied thoroughly, although it is a factor that reveals layers of knowledge on the history of peoples who have established long-term contacts with one another; problem of language and culture of the peoples or tribes who have influenced the formation of the Yakut language on the one hand, and dialect characteristics within a single language on the other, in terms of naming the same geographical objects.The objective of the given research is to identify the etymological element of Yakutia's toponyms in order to reconstruct the historical past of Central Yakutia's exploration, and to determine the types of landscape's identification by various ethnic groups in formation of toponyms.The leading method in analyzing the given problem is a comparative method based on identification of the toponyms' etymological component, as well as the method of statistical processing of the quantitative results of the analysis.More than 300 toponyms have been studied on the material of the toponymic base of Central Yakutia's Khangalassky region.The etymology of toponyms is studied on the basis of dictionary definitions and the material provided by informants.The analysis resulted in identification of etymological components in Central Yakutia's toponyms.The Khangalassky region was selected for the analysis of toponyms due to the historical factor in the first place.The Yakuts as an ethnic group had settled in the basin of Middle Lena, in the valleys of Erkeni and Samartai.The final formation of