Function of Ethnonyms in the Work Baburnama

Abstract

This article deals with ethnonyms and their role in the famous work Baburnamа, written by the Turkic writer, poet and ruler Zakhiriddin Muhammad Babur. The text of a work of art reflects a unique, individual author’s picture of the world of the writer, his conceptual sphere, filled with a special artistic worldview. The relevance of referring to the study of ethnonyms in the text Baburnama is due to their insufficient research. Since ancient times, they have reflected various important social and spiritual phenomena in the life of the peoples of Central Asia. The study of ethnonyms will help the reader to imagine the history of that time, the genetic makeup of Babur’s empire; will tell about the relationship between peoples, about their language and culture. In addition to all this, ethnonymy can tell a lot about the author himself, about his socio-cultural and ethnicity. This work shows that the ethnonymic layer of the vocabulary of any language is especially valuable for research in the field of cultural history. The study of ethnonyms opens up ample opportunities for the study of individual linguistic characteristics that characterize a particular ethnos. Scientific works of V. V. Radlov and V. V. Bartold laid the foundation for various oriental studies, including the study of the Turkic languages, ethnography, folklore and archaeological heritage. Based on their works, we tried to reflect the interweaving of various cultural, ethnic and linguistic traditions in the studied material.