A Karelian-Veps dialogue on the map of southern Karelia

The paper elaborates on D. V. Bubrikh’s ideas about the dialectal division of the Karelian language associated with the impact of the Veps linguistic component on the formation of the Livvi and Ludic variants. An areal analysis of specific lexical and toponymic stems was employed to identify the nature of Veps-Karelian contacts in the Onego-Ladoga isthmus, i.e, the Veps substrate in Karelian and, correspondingly, Karelian inclusions in the Veps language. The toponymic material made it possible to reconstruct the historical distribution of the terms addressed (the Veps purde ‘spring (wellhead)’ and the Karelian kiidžin ‘moss growing underwater on the bottom’) and, building on this, the historical boundaries of the Veps and Karelian territories in the isthmus. It is also demonstrated that the dividing line between the Livvi and the Ludic areas runs along the ancient boating and portage route from the Svir River to the Shuja River that had for a long time been in Vepsian use, impeding, in a way, Karelian advancement eastwards along the Shuja. Its markers are several Veps toponymic patterns (e.g., the metaphoric name for hills Kukoinharj, literally ‘Cockscomb’). Along with the areal method, the paper applied an etymological study to prove that the Veps. purde ‘spring’ is derived from the Baltic-Finnish verb stem puurta- ‘dig, form a stream bed’. The paper also discusses approaches to reveal the etymology of the Karelian kiidžin.