Linguistic Features of Bashkir Spoken by Natives of Bardymsky District (Perm Krai, Russia): Some Phonetic and Grammatical Differences from the Standard Language

Introduction. Northwestern Bashkir is a vernacular language spoken by Bashkirs inhabiting the northwestern parts of Bashkortostan and — the southern parts of Perm Krai in the valleys of the Tulva and the Barda (latter’s left tributary). As for Perm Bashkirs, they form communities in Bardymsky, Permsky, Osinsky, Kuyedinsky, Chernushinsky and a number of other districts. The rural inhabitants still speak the Gaina dialect (a dialect of the Bashkir clan Gaina, Bash. ғəynə) of northwestern Bashkir. Goals. The article examines some ethnolinguistic features of the living colloquial language spoken by inhabitants of Bardymsky District (Perm Krai, Russia). The study of the Gaina dialect is of historical significance, and the latter cannot be considered fully articulated to date. The former has been subject to repeated scientific discussions and is still a most controversial scientific issue that is of utmost interest to researchers. There is no unequivocal opinion in scientific discourse as to ethnic characteristics of the language spoken by the inhabitants of the delineated area. Materials and methods. Our insight into the material from the perspective of cross-cultural communication in the era of growing interest towards other cultures may prove instrumental in learning the originality of equal dialogic interaction between representatives of different linguocultures, which makes it possible to cognize a different cultural reality in comparison with one’s own. The work employs the analytical and structural-typological methods, techniques of linguistic observation, expeditionary collection and systematization. Results. The shaping of a peculiar and unique dialect of Gaina Bashkirs was facilitated by that the latter had been geographically somewhat separated from the bulk of their fellow tribesmen. The Gaina dialect spoken in Bardymsky District is rich in phonetic and grammatical features characteristic of northwestern Bashkir, including related dialects (and subdialects). At the same time, the paper’s insight into the available material reveals some certain features inherent to the region only.

1. Materials of the 2023 expedition funded by Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 23-28-01247 ‘Language and Folklore of Gaina Bashkirs’.

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