Animal Names as Topo-Foundations in Don Govoras: Problems of Classification and Etymology

The study of toponymic material of a particular region is an urgent problem of modern science. Based on the materials of the card index of the toponymic dictionary of the Don and Azov region, the purpose of this article is to identify and describe words denoting the names of animals that were used as topographic bases in the Russian Don dialects. To achieve this goal, the following research objectives are determined: a) to identify microtoponyms with the basic names of animals; b) to describe their structure and semantic characteristics; c) if possible, to identify the
motivational features of toponyms of this group, involving etymological analysis if necessary; d) to identify the most obvious problems that arise when working on the material.
The novelty of the study lies in the attempt to systematize the main problems faced by the researcher of the Don microtoponymy, as well as the proposed explanation of the etymology of several toponyms.