On the Differentiation of Mari and Permic Place Names in the Vetluga-Vyatka Interfluve Area

The article presents an analysis of place names of the Vetluga-Vyatka interfluve area containing lexemes that can be of either Mari or Permic origin. The paper focuses on the roots shVr, vazh ~ vozh which are frequent in the toponymy of the area, and some names ingluding the lexical component vad / vod / vot. The author establishes the linguistic attribution of the place names in question and suggests possible etymologies for the roots, determiners and names on the whole. In addition to the etymological analysis, the author shows the importance of some general and special principles of toponymic studies as applied to the differentiation of Mari and Permic place names of the Vetluga-Vyatka interfluve area. The author concludes that among the place names containing the component shVr there are those of both Mari and Permic origin, the latter being concentrated in the North-East of the Republic of Mari-El and in the adjacent districts of Kirov region. The author argues that the root vozh was not active in Udmurt toponymy when Udmurt clan groups lived on the right bank of the Vyatka. The article also suggests new hypotheses concerning the origin of some place names containing vad / vod / vot which used to be explained referring to the Komi language