Semantics of Oronyms “Davaa” In The Mongolian Language

Abstract

Toponyms have played an essential role in Mongolian nomadic way of life which totally depends on its nature and environment. Toponyms are rich in cultural and historic connotation giving some information about geographical characteristics, culture, beliefs, and way of thinking of the nation. With expanding globalization, significance and impact of toponymy, specifically oronymy, in terms of interdisciplinary research field has been emphasized by experts all over the world.

This small-scale study considers semantic aspects of oronyms with the word ‘davaa’ in the Mongolian language, and made an attempt to classify them based on their meaning. Once Mongolia is a mountainous country, there are numerous words used to name mountains and hills, but the word ‘davaa’, commonly used for Mongolian oronyms, was selected for the study as it plays a substantial role in the Mongolian Geographical Name Database. This paper aims to explore relationship between Mongols and mountains they worship, and picture their mental representation about the geographical reliefs through the word ‘davaa’. We hope once it is not a widely explored topic, this article may serve as a blueprint for further studies related to this topic.