Figurative names of persons in Nothern Aukštaitian subdialect of Panevėžys.

The subject of the investigation is more than 330 figurative nominal lexemes used in the Northern Panevėžys subdialect (mainly from the local subdialects spoken in Pasvalys district), which describe people according to different negative features of their character. The article deals with the vocabulary characteristic of the local subdialect only (otherwise it is referred to as inherited, specific, typical). Almost all the lexemes discussed in the investigation have a pejorative shade of meaning, and only a small part of the lexemes have a contemptuous or vulgar shade of meaning. According to their lexical meaning, all the names of persons are divided into respective semantic groups and subgroups; the formation and origin of the names are discussed in greater detail. Also, attempts are made to determine which names are still used in the subdialect and which are falling out or have completely fallen out of active use. The material recorded by the author during expeditions and the data found in the Supplement Card Index of the "Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language" are compared with the older data from the "Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language". If a respective lexeme is recorded in the "Dictionary" but the members of the expedition failed to record it and it is not included in the Supplement Card Index of the "Dictionary", it is very likely that the lexeme is already falling out of use. What is more, the investigation made an attempt to ascertain whether the names of persons used by speakers of the Northern Panevėžys subdialect were in any way related to the national Lithuanian character. The material discussed shows that the Lithuanian identity and our ethno-cultural mentality reveal themselves through the language as well. The connotative lexemes do not only identify people but also express the emotional evaluative attitude of the language user towards them. A lot of figurative words have been quite actively used to name persons in the subdialect up to the present day. Even today speakers of the Northern Panevėžys subdialect frequently use those figurative nouns, which have been made from the verbs that are still in active use in the subdialect. Looking at the names of persons from the point of view of their origin, it was noticed that Slavisms have survived in the subdialect much better. Germanisms are falling out of use much more rapidly