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The early or proto-history of the Khazars is still far from being thoroughly investigated, in regard to the world wide popularity of the Khazar studies. There are still many vague points to be discovered, despite the great attempts especially for the last hundred years of modern Khazar studies. We may differentiate between the terms Khazar and Khazarian , the former referring to the ethnie in the core of the process making Khazaria, and thus to the proto stage, and the latter to the well-known imperial formation in Eastern Europe. The scattered but rich sources of Khazarian history are not, on the other hand, very helpful in Khazar history. The debates on the meaning of the ethnonym Khazar are also a part of the proto-history. We are bound, for the early parts of the history, with the eastern, i.e., Chinese and Turkic sources. Previously the Chinese sources were effectively used in that regard, and with the publication of the readings of the two Uyghur inscriptions Tes and Terkhin from the 750s some fifty years ago opened a new chapter for the early history of the Khazars and the etymology of their name. This paper suggests a new frame for the early history of the Khazars in Asia and Europe and slightly revises the etymology of what we may call the French school, supposing that the Khazars came from South Siberia to the Caucasus in the wave of the Suvar union, after being defeated by the Uyghurs during an internal strife likely instigated by the Türks and their overlords Juan-juans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: This paper reconstructs past multilingualism (1900–1930s) among the nomadic people of the Lower Yenisei in northern Siberia, with particular attention to the language ideologies behind it; it is validated by parallels from small-scale communities worldwide. Approach: An ethnographic approach is taken, which interprets sociolinguistic data in view of emic categorizations. Data and analysis: The reconstruction is based on: (a) 1926 census data; (b) ethnographic reports from the 1920s to 1960s; (c) narratives from the 1940s; (d) retrospective sociolinguistic interviews; and (e) ethnonyms of local languages. (a), (b) provide a background for the interpretation of the linguistic data from (c)–(e). Findings: The connection of local social categories/groups to languages was unstable both synchronically and diachronically. Linguistic repertoires described the authenticity of the speech communities better than the command of individual languages. The linguistic indexing of identity was relational and depended on social networks more than on ancestry/kinship. These ideologies together with constant migrations shaped the sociolinguistic profile of the area and facilitated language shifts. Originality: Besides providing a detailed sociolinguistic description for an underresearched part of the world, this paper uses a novel methodology for reconstructing multilingualism of the past. Implications: The described mechanisms of language shift within communities that are multilingual in related languages contribute to theories of language diversification and spread at least in the north, but possibly also in a broader perspective. The methodology can be applied to other cases of past multilingualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Known as one of the most thought-provoking populations of the Balkans, the Morlachs, their origin, and their name have stirred the interest of researchers. The purpose of this study is to focus on the meaning of the term 'Morlach' as it emerges from the various sources which have been identified over time and, also, to highlight how such sources can impact our memory. The objective is to provide insight on the evolution of an ethnonym (or identifier) and on its flexibility in a context of political, economic and social changes, in Dalmatia. Thus, this study calls for a more increased focus on a pivotal aspect of the process of "historical recovery" of the Morlach communities in Dalmatia, more particularly, on the issues related to their designation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out of 49 names of genera described from Rovno amber, 10 names (20.4 %) are related to Ukrainian toponyms. One way or another, 15.7 % of names out of 217 animal species described from Rovno amber and 67 % out of 6 described plant species are related to Ukrainian toponyms and ethnonyms. Today, only 8 out of 217 species described from Rovno amber, are known from Baltic amber. Th e ratio between Ukrainian and Baltic toponyms in the names of Rovno representatives of any given family directly depends both on the degree of exploration of a family in the corresponding faunas and floras, and on the degree of a family's link with the ecosystem of the amber forest itself. Ant Formica paleopolonica Dlussky is recorded for Rovno amber for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a well-known fact that the Sogdians were in close contact with various peoples in Central Asia. The traces of their relations with various peoples can also be seen very well in the onomas tics of Central Asia. The present study provides a small cross-section with regard to the traces of these relations in onomastics. The study gives a brief overview on the traces of the Sogdian denominal adjective suffixes +'k and +īk (i.e. -'k and -īk) in the onomastics of Central Asia as well as introduces the onomastic material derived with these Sogdian suffixes. The greater part of this material concerns Tocharians, but there are also Turkic and Mongolian names among them. At the end of the study, a map is also given that is based on Tocharian ethnotoponyms and ethnohydronyms formed with these Sogdian suffixes, which point to the former factual geographical distribution of Tocharians in and around Afghanistan. The study analyzes the following ethnonyms, ethnotoponyms and ethnohydronyms in Central Asia: Sogdak / Sugdak, Tograk / Tugrak, Tugarak, Tokarak / Tukarak, Toghārak, Tūkrīk, Sartak(tay), Ogrāk / Ugrāk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An impressive number of articles, (monographic) studies, edited volumes and doctoral theses have already been written about the other/otherness/alterity, as concepts shared not only by literary criticism but also by numerous social sciences. This approach brings forward representations of the other as they appear in a Romanian novel also translated into English which was famous ever since its publication, namely Duiliu Zamfirescu's Viaţa la ţară. The whole text was scoured with the purpose of identifying the elements of alterity to create a corpus recording all the instances where heroes and heroines discuss with or about the other, interrelate with the other or even misbehave in relation to the other. The 34 excerpts were collected into a corpus which was further submitted to analysis and revealing seven sets of such representations scattered throughout the novel, but not all of them were discussed herein because of their repetitive character. In general terms, irrespective of his/her identity, the other is described directly or indirectly. In the case of the former category, the characters pertaining to the category of the self give details about their friends or, maybe, the narrator himself intervenes with details. In the case of the latter category, the other presents himself/herself through personal deeds, opinions and more or less harmful gestures. The attitudes of the self towards the other seem to depend on the other's ethnical group and they encompass a rather limited repertoire of opposite manifestations which include both respect and disrespect, friendliness and distance, neutrality or even an absolute lack of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I analyze the term “Macedonian(s)” based on the discourse of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (1893–1908) from the aspect of the internal understanding of the term as a supra-local and supra-church identity. Another matter for analysis in this article is that of the stereotypes in the interpretation of Macedonian historical processes inherited from the nineteenth century, still present in some contemporary historiographies. Hence, the article makes an attempt to bring down the stereotype about the existence of some unique Macedonian ethnic phenomenon known as the “Macedonian salad.” This article also deals with the significance of the geopolitical position of Ottoman Macedonia within the empire. More specifically, the emphasis is placed on the change of its position after the Great Eastern Crisis (1875–1881). Namely, for the first time since the Ottoman conquests in the Middle Ages, Macedonia's position within the empire changed from being a central to a peripheral Ottoman province, with all the advantages and disadvantages that this change brought about. This aspect of Macedonian historical reality is often neglected in the historiography. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, new interpretations of the ethnonyms Visigoths and Ostrogoths are proposed in a wider context of Germanic and Indo-European ethnonyms. The first component of the ethnonym Visigothae is etymologized on the basis of Old High German wisa "meadow, pasture", to express the way of livelihood of its bearers, Goths-Pastoralists. On the other way, the first component of the ethnonym Austrogoti/Ostrogothae may be identified with Old High German ustrī & ustarī "diligence, activity". These etymologies allow us to determine in both the ethnonyms the pair representing the functional opposition: Goths-Pastoralists vs. Goths-Farmers, resembling another pair of Gothic ethnonyms, for this once environmental, Greutungi vs. Tervingi, originally "people from the stony or sandy country" vs. "people from forests", respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses a relatively unexplored topic: the meaning and use of names and labels for ethnies and nations. It has been said (by Anthony Smith and others) that a nation is a “named” ethnic community. In the same sense, an ethnie is a “named” categoric group. The labeling of an ethnic or national categoric group by the group is often a self-conscious political act of identification reflecting its image and self-image and serving a variety of purposes: the achievement of collective self-respect, self-legitimation, adaptation and assimilation, differentiation, and self-exclusion, just as labeling by others is associated with legitimation or de-legitimation and positive or negative discrimination. The assigning of ethnonyms is a function of the sociopolitical context, ideology, and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]