Kurmantau village history and its linguistic characteristics

This article discusses the history of the formation of the Tatar village of Kurmantau of the Gafuri region in the Republic of Bashkortostan and the linguistic features of speakers of the Kurmantau subdialect of the Tatar language middle dialect. It is based on the materials collected by the author during dialectological expeditions, as well as historical and ethnographic works, archival materials, including revision tales stored in the funds of Ufa and Moscow. The Kurmantau subdialect was discovered and first investigated by the author in 2011–2015. It is noted that the main role in the formation of the Kurmantau villages was played by the speakers of the middle and western (mishar) dialects of the Tatar language. It is proved that this subdialect has a specific system of dialectal features, and is an independent subdialect of the middle dialect of the Tatar language. The study of linguistic material in direct relation to history and ethnography makes it possible to display a rather detailed picture of the formation of the Kurmantau subdialect, establish the main factors that led to its originality, as well as traces of interaction with other dialects of the Tatar language or with other languages. The Kurmantau subdialect, like other subdialects and dialects, plays an important role in preserving ethnic identity and cultural continuity of generations.