THE ROLE OF SUBSTRATE AND SUPERSTRATE LEXIS IN THE HISTORICAL STRATIFICATION OF HYDRONYMS

Аннотация

This article explores the significance of hydronyms (names of water bodies) as linguistic relics that preserve lexical remnants of ancient languages. It introduces the core concepts of linguistic substrate (the influence of an earlier, replaced language) and superstrate (the influence of a dominant, invading language) to argue that the historical stratification of these names provides a unique and valuable chronicle of a region's complex ethnolinguistic history, revealing details about migration, conquest, and cultural assimilation.