On Some Polish Place-names in Russian Texts

Abstract

In the article, we examine mechanisms of creating Russian equivalents of selected groups of Polish placenames. We also trace ways of how these equivalents function in actual texts. As to the material, we use the available dictionary data and information-oriented books data. Our analysis shows that the Polish placenames are given in divergent ways, and, at times, with no consistency. Consequently, we have presented some of the main problems that can be identified in communicating Polish place-names in a Russian text. These are: scope of phonetic transmission (transcription), scope of semantic import, preservation or adaptation of the script, and grammatical aspects of the names (declension, gender).