Universal and Local Features in Toponymy, Folklore Studies, and Ethnoculturology in the Transboundary Space

Scholars from Petropavlovsk, Almaty, Istanbul, Elista, Ufa, and other cities discussed universal and local features in toponymy, folklore studies, and ethnoculturology in the transboundary space at the university. The international scientific and practical conference served as a platform for dialogue. Philologists, folklorists, local historians, and onomastics specialists shared their research in the field of toponymic landscape in the border regions of Northern Kazakhstan and Russia, as well as the stages of forming the toponymic system of the border areas (based on the materials of the North Kazakhstan Region and the Kurgan, Tyumen, and Omsk regions of Russia). They also shared their experiences in compiling regional dictionaries and building a system of intercultural understanding and tolerance.

"This conference is dedicated to a very important and relevant issue of humanitarian knowledge: toponymy, folklore studies, and ethnoculturology, which are inseparable and complementary to each other. We know that toponymy without the folk wisdom, the people's knowledge of the features of the locality, could not convey the uniqueness of ethnic worldview, but at the same time, it could not convey the universality of human knowledge. The transboundary toponymic space is an area of interpenetration of cultures and values of different societies," Professor Gulmira Madieva from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University mentioned in an online presentation.

It is worth noting that scientific research in onomastics and toponymy has been conducted at our university for quite some time. In 2023, a grant from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan was obtained for the implementation of the scientific project "Integrated Study of the Toponymic Landscape of the Border Regions of Northern Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation," under the leadership of Elena Sabiyeva, Ph.D., Dean of the Institute of Philology and Linguistics.