ZOONYMS AND PHYTONYMS IN THE ONOMASTIC SPACE OF GERMAN LITERARY FAIRY TALES

Abstract

The onomastikon is one of the most important links in the architectonics of a fairy tale text. It contributes to the actualization of all its potential properties, as well as to the understanding of historical, philosophical and sociocultural content. Onomastics is the science that studies proper names of all types. According to the objects of study, onomastics is divided into anthroponyms, toponyms, ethnonyms, zoonyms and astronyms. The object of this study is the zoonyms of German literary fairy tales. In fairy tales, the main characters can be both humans and animals, and they always occupy a central position in a work of fiction. Animals are an allegorical representation of human types and characters. That is why most zoonyms are represented by real anthroponomy or are created on anthropomorphic models. A comparative analysis of the semantic structure of zoonyms has revealed a number of characteristics: zoonyms are associated with specific personal characteristics that qualify personal qualitative features of a person – his or her character traits and external features. In most cases, animal characters have neither names nor nicknames. Fictional zoonyms are also often found in fairy tales. An example is “der Krautesel”. A separate type of onomatopoeia is the phytonym, i.e. the proper name of a plant, because it is also quite often an element of German literary fairy tales and carries a special meaning. In German fairy tales, phytonyms include both ordinary flowers (lily, rose) and trees (oak, willow, walnut), as well as those created by the author's imagination. An example of a fictional phytonym is the “Niesmitlust” herb. The category of fairy-tale zoonyms also includes such an onomastic unit as myth zoonym – the proper name of an animal that does not actually exist, but a person imagines it to be real. A frequent myth zoonym in German fairy tales is “der Drache”. In literary works, birds have a certain symbolic meaning; they are often identified with deities, gods of thunder, wind, and rulers of natural elements. Thus, the image of an animal can be used to characterize an object (person, object). However, we should not forget about the endless and diverse world of fairy tales, in which each character can appear to the reader in a bad and good light. Through the study of fairy tale onyms, one can reveal the cultural characteristics of a people.