LANGUAGE LANDSCAPE AND IDENTITY IN DIALECTS FORMED THROUGH RUSSIAN INDIGENOUS CONTACT IN KAMCHATKA

Purpose: To describe and analyze the vocabulary related to natural landscapes in the Kamchadal dialects of late Russian settlement, highlighting how such lexemes reflect the linguistic worldview and environmental conceptualization of dialect speakers in the Kamchatka region. Methodology/Approach: The study is based on linguistic description and component analysis. The material was drawn from field expedition notes (1970–2015), dialect dictionaries, and regional archives. Lexical items were classified according to their semantic fields, origins, and landscape associations. Originality/Relevance: This research contributes to dialectology, regional ethnolinguistics, and sustainability studies by documenting traditional ecological knowledge encoded in language. The findings demonstrate how landscape vocabulary reflects a sustainable interaction with the natural environment, rooted in centuries-old practices of resource use and spatial awareness among Kamchadal communities. Key Findings: The Kamchadal dialects use a diverse set of lexemes to represent tundra, forests, elevations, and swamps. Many of these words, such as alas, alashi, and ashkyg, reflect indigenous influence. The dialect speakers conceptualize space through utility and familiarity, assigning landscape terms with practical, ecological, and emotional connotations (e.g., diminutives like bereznyachok for birch forest patches). Certain landscape features also serve as geographic markers, often reflected in toponyms and ordinal naming (e.g., Vtoroy Bugor, Tretiy Bereznyak). This vocabulary encodes sustainable land-use practices and environmental resilience in a fragile northern ecosystem. Theoretical/Methodological Contributions: The study enhances understanding of the linguistic picture of the world in dialect communities and highlights how language preserves knowledge essential to sustainable regional development. It offers insights for interdisciplinary fields such as cultural geography, linguistic anthropology, and environmental education, particularly in relation to indigenous and local knowledge systems.