Literature Review

Interest in the study of synonyms has not waned throughout the history of linguistics. The study of synonymy and synonymic relations between dictionary units attracted the attention of many Russian linguists dealing with the problems of semasiology: V. A. Grechko (1987), A. D. Grigor'ev (1959), A. A. Bragina (1986), M. F. Palevskaia (1964), and A. P. Evgen'eva (1970). Problems of synonymy and antonymy have also been an object of research among foreign linguists. In Roy Harris's and Howard Jackson's works on synonymy, the following criteria are identified as a basis for the association of synonyms: 1) a generality or identity of values (Harris 1973: 11); 2) an opportunity of functional replacement (Jackson 1988: 66). In the works of John Lions, synonymous expressions adhere to three conditions: 1) all values are identical; 2) expressions in a context are synonymous; 3) they are identical semantically (Lions 2004: 77).

Generalizing from theories of synonymy in Russian and foreign linguistics, sources agree that words which are capable of replacing each other in any context can be referred to as synonyms. It is necessary to note that synonyms are invariably considered one of the means of expressiveness in a language.

Despite its importance, synonymy in Even has not yet acquired adequate scientific coverage. The issues of synonymy have been considered only in a few articles, as well as, very superficially, in a number of textbooks and manuals on the native language (Nesterova 2021b). The material we have collected and described in terms of content and design is used in the dictionary of synonyms that the authors are currently compiling. A dictionary of synonyms can be used in further linguistic research, as well as in scholarly and extracurricular work on the Even language in schools.

Antonyms as a complex category of lexicology has been developed in modern linguistics both theoretically and practically in sufficient detail. And yet, in modern linguistics, researchers acknowledge that there is no unified view of the phenomenon of antonyms itself. The definitions given by Shansky (1972) and Kostomarov and Maksimov (2003) are fundamental for us.

Synonymy

In modern linguistics, the most common definition of synonyms is the following: “Synonyms often refer to words with close, but not identical, meanings … as a rule, synonyms share a semantic core but have various intersections in their meanings” (Budagov 1967: 230). The correct use of words in speech that are close in meaning requires knowledge of the semantic shades and stylistic properties in order to implement them. A. A. Bragina also states the basis of synonymy to be the proximity of meanings expressing one concept in an integral set of their features (Bragina 1986: 8). Researchers who consider interchangeability as the most important criterion for the selection of synonyms disagree on its nature. Lexical synonyms as a part of more general semantic sets of words are considered in the works of researchers like Berezhan (1967), Shchur (1974), and others.

According to Y. D. Apresian, “Word units may be recognized as interchangeable and, therefore, synonymous only when, in the coinciding meaning, they are used in at least one common construction and have partially coincident combinability” (Apresian 1957: 87). Evgen'eva notes: “Only those words that are related to each other in their use and meaning should be recognized as synonyms” (Evgen'eva 1970: 10).

Based on the aforementioned research, we can conclude that these two features—semantic proximity and interchangeability—are the main criteria for determining the synonymity of words.

Revealing the sources of synonymy is an important task, as it contributes to the full disclosure of synonymic relations in the lexical system of the Even language. This study shows that the formation of synonymy in Even was facilitated by linguistic contacts with other peoples, in particular, with the Sakha and Russian peoples.

Many of the synonyms arose from borrowed words. It is known that the lexical composition of the Even language has a significant number of borrowings from the Russian language, for example: mukəchi ∼ biravna borrowed from brevno “log;” alik ∼ bedro borrowed from vedro “bucket;” usi ∼ berjovə borrowed from verevka “rope;” hulanja məŋən ∼ choluta borrowed from zoloto “gold;” kolnak ∼ ispir from spirt “alcohol;” duruldivun ∼ ispiskə from spichka “match;” köechildivun ∼ turbə from podzornaia truba “spyglass;” husaldivun ∼ nosmincha from nozhnitsy “scissors;” təkən ∼ bachiba from spasibo “thank you;” daramach ∼ pustoich from popustu “for nothing” or ponaprasnu “in vain;” nuran ∼ pule from pulia “bullet.”

Additionally, there are many borrowings from Sakha into Even. The vocabulary of the Even language was enriched with Sakha lexical borrowings in all semantic domains. For example: njanin ∼ kallan “sky, clear day” < Sak.¹ hallaan “sky, heavenly;” niŋu ∼ akari 1. 1) Sk. “stupid;” 2) Arm. “insane;”; 2. 1) “fool;” 2) “folktale hero;” bəil ∼ d'on Lam., Sk., M. < Sak. d'on “people;” e:dən Sk. “trouble” < Sak. iədəən 1) “disturbance, anxiety;” 2) “misfortune, trouble.”

Russian and Sakha borrowings, often dedicated to certain conversational contexts, acquire various stylistic meanings. When borrowings are used in colloquial speech, they usually undergo phonetic and morphological adaptation. For example: Hagdi bej gönni: “Tar urekchen chidalan egden birakchan bidin, tarak birakchan cholutamnan bivetten.” (“The old man said: ‘There's a big brook over that mountain, this brook is full of gold.’”) Ilan aknil tegechidde: ŋi emren?—aknilni ulgimir.—Akary Pacha emren,—hergeten gönni. (“Three brothers were sitting there: ‘Who's here?’ the brothers asked. ‘Stupid Pacha has come,’ says the youngest brother.”)

Archaisms

The semantics of Even synonymic lexemes is the result of historical development; in the process of the formation of lexical synonymy, there undoubtedly were certain losses and innovations, for example: kətər (arch.) ∼ əgdemkər “huge, large;” unidek (arch.) ∼ harachak “trade, shop;” töli (arch.) ∼ miltərə “filled to the brim;” chakar (arch.) ∼ haŋar “orifice,” onsichan (arch.) ∼ irröchin “which (one).”

In general, it should be noted that archaic loanwords in the Even language are rare, but there are some examples of archaic borrowings from the Russian language: tarchina ∼ it əgdeŋətən, borrowed from starshina “petty officer;” chvechi ∼ nejkə borrowed from svecha “candle.”

Dialect Words

A subgroup of structurally related synonyms with weak interchangeability includes dialectal synonyms. The behavior of dialects is variable, and words from multiple sources enter speech first as doublets, which then develop synonymous meanings (or one word disappears entirely). Dialects are usually known to persist in languages that are spread over a larger territory; their emergence is linked to greater or lesser isolation from each other. Depending on the degree of contact between their speakers, dialects can diverge or converge to a great or lesser degree. Because of this variation, the system of dialects in each language has a number of peculiarities.

Despite the differences that make communication difficult, any Even language dialect is mostly understandable to speakers of any other dialect. Consequently, these differences do not preclude the existence of a common phonetic and grammatical system from the Even language, as well as a common shared vocabulary. The literary Even language, created in the thirties on the basis of the Olskii dialect of the Eastern dialect (Dutkin 1995: 6), is supposed to serve as a unified means of communication between the speakers of different dialects and varieties.

The synonymization of dialect tokens occurs as a result of the gradual process of dialect words penetrating into the literary language. The literary Even language is now the language of education, literature, mass media (newspapers), translated fiction, and traditional folklore that has been written down (and reworked) for publication. The Even language is taught as a foreign language in preschools, elementary schools, and high schools, where instruction is in the written literary language. That is, the Even language serves as the subject of teaching and is not the language of training, even in preschools.

The Even language is studied as its own subject in elementary schools in all regions of compact residence of Evens, and in these areas it is an obligatory subject in high school up to the eleventh grade. In the Bilibinskii District of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, it is an optional course until the ninth grade; this is also true in the Bystrinskii District of the Kamchatka region, in the Severo-Evenskii District of the Magadan region, and in a number of areas of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The Even language is taught in a number of post-secondary educational institutions—the Anadyrskii pedagogical college, in the Yakutsk pedagogical college, in the college of the Cherskii settlement of Nizhnekolymskii District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and also in higher educational institutions—in the M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, in the Northern International University (Magadan), in the Khabarovsk Pedagogical Institute, and in the A. I. Gertsen Russian State Pedagogical University (in the Faculty of Peoples of Far North). During the period from 1926 until 1995, more than 70 textbooks on the Even language for the elementary school level were published. In 1991, a textbook on the Even language for pedagogical colleges was released. Manuals on the Even language for high school exist only for the fifth and sixth grades; for grades seven to nine, textbooks on Even literature have recently been prepared.

Fictional literature in the Even language has existed from the beginning of the 1930s. The works of N. S. Tarabukin, V. Sleptsov, P. Gromov, P. Tylkanov, and K. Babtsev date to this period.

There is also a body of poetry in the Even language, which can be found in the poetry collections of P. Lamutsky, V. D. Lebedev, V. S. Keimetinov-Bargachan, A. V. Krivoshapkin, D. V. Krivoshapkin, and V. Arkuk, and also in several collections of author's songs—the improvisations of E. N. Bokova. Original prose in the Even language is also available in the books of A. V. Krivoshapkin and E. N. Bokova.

In total, more than 120 books on the Even language have been published, representing both original literature in the Even language and translations of fairy tales for children. Examples of socio-political literature translated into the Even language are very few.

In the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), there is a unique newspaper publication, Ilken, which is printed in the languages of the minority peoples of the Republic. Each issue consists of four printed pages. Ilken is published with the purpose of illuminating the social, economic, and cultural development of the Arctic region, especially of its indigenous peoples.

Since 1990, newspapers in Chukotka publish a page in the Even language. Sporadically, there are pages in the Even language in the regional newspapers of various ulusy of Yakutia. In Bystrinskii District of the Kamchatka area, the newspaper Aidit publishes parallel texts in Russian and Even. Periodically, separate materials on the Even language are published as magazines, such as Ajvərəttə (“The Pink Seagull”) (Chukotka). The radio station “Gjavan” (Yakutsk) broadcasts in the Even language, and there are periodically separate special broadcasts in Even over Chukotkan radio and TV (in Anadyr’).

Since the literary language is dominant, there are instances of dialect words forming synonymic relations with literary words: amoldaj (West.) ∼ hukləməldəj “to want to sleep;” aba (West.) ∼ ama “father;” anda (West.) ∼ həchus “fatigue;” aŋtaku (West.) ∼ nuŋu “foolish;” ibgo (West.) ∼ aj “good;” ibgoltodaj (West.) ∼ ajŋurdaj “to improve, to correct;” karkidaj (West.) ∼ alattaj “to wait, to await;” komtorgon (West.) ∼ köŋkəvki “bug;” nokoһok (West.) ∼ tinimkun “scale;” omolgo (West.) ∼ hurkən “boy, lad;” and so on.

Euphemisms

One active source of synonymy in the Even language is euphemisms. In every language there are certain special, sacred, or secret topics and words that are forbidden in conversational speech. To replace such words, the speaker resorts to the help of euphemisms. Euphemisms are emotionally neutral words or expressions used instead of words or expressions that seem indecent, rude, or inauthentic to the speaker (Akhmanova 1966: 513). For example, instead of the verb kökədəj “to die,” the Evens use the verbs dərəmkədəj 1) “to rest, to take a rest;” 2) “to die” (figurative), achcha odaj “to cease to exist,” njutlədəj 1) “to go collect tree resin;” 2) “to die” (allegorically), nöltəntəki badusandaj “to wander towards the sun.”

In the Even language, the verb madaj 1) “to kill someone;” 2) “to catch a fish” is necessarily euphemized. Instead, hunters, fishermen, and reindeer breeders use synonymous euphemisms: aniv'jattaj 1) “to obtain prey;” 2) “to receive a gift,” formed from anidaj 1) “to give;” 2) “to reward;” baktaj 1) “to find, discover, reveal;” 2) “to unravel;” 3) “to find a solution;” urəvdəj “to kill (refl.), to give oneself over to death” (about an animal); borivdaj “to receive what is shared;” bövdjej “to receive what is given.”

A separate category is occupied by euphemisms denoting the names of various animals. For example, it was considered dangerous to mention hunted animals; the following euphemisms were used instead of their names: instead of nökəchən “elk,” the euphemism əgdetə was used (from əgden “big”), or nevchəlri (from negchəldəj “to darken”), as well as alŋagda “big-horned” (of an elk), alŋalatti “horned” (of an elk) from alŋa “elk horns,” and terms such as navdaka “elk” and toki “elk, moose.”

Other names of animals are also euphemized. Thus, njoŋchak “wolf” is replaced by the following euphemisms in Even: girkari, girkuchan “wolf” from girkadaj “to step, to walk;” burkuchan “wolf” from burkudaj “to sit;” ŋəluki, ŋələchin “wolf” from ŋəldəj “to be afraid, to experience fear;” dolbasak “wolf” from dolba “night;” mata “wolf” (in folklore); hevunki “wolf” from hevəndəj “to poke out, to go out, to climb out.”

The most common euphemized word in the Even language is nakat “bear.” The bear is a sacred animal for the Even. It was forbidden to talk about it, to speak about it loudly, or to mention its name unnecessarily. The word nakat was replaced by euphemisms ətəkə “bear” from ətə “grandpa, grandfather;” həŋun’ “bear” from həŋundəj “to be afraid, to experience superstitious fear;” abaga, abaŋa “bear” from abaga, abaŋa “grandpa;” achurkan, dərikən, kobalan, kəki, kjaga “bear” from kjaga “grandpa;” məməkə, məməchə, məmənde “bear” from məmə “scary, creepy” (interjection); nugdə, nugdəne “bear” from nugdəldəj “to darken;” umalaŋa, huchana, həvche, həvəje, hərmi, ətikən “bear” from ətikən “old man;” ətki “bear” from ətə “grandpa;” and others.

Euphemisms and taboo words in the Even language are legitimately considered lexical synonyms, as the principle of their use in speech is based on synonymy. In Even, euphemisms and taboo words have become widely used, surpassing the frequency of the word they replace, and have expanded the stylistic possibilities of the language.

Figurative Vocabulary

Figurative words of the Even language are used mainly in colloquial speech; these words are often emotionally colored. By using figurative words in one's speech, the speaker not only conveys a picture of an action or phenomenon, but also expresses his attitude to it. By their type, figurative words belong to the stylistic synonyms.

Figurative words of the Even language are characterized first of all by the peculiarity of their semantics. One word can convey the way of a certain action. For example, the lexeme köettəj, with the meaning “to gaze, to look,” is synonymous with the following words: kjariŋchidaj “to look straight ahead;” bəltərəŋchidəj “to stare, to gape;” kiltəŋchidəj “to look with one's eyes wide open. ”

Even also includes sound-imitating words among the figurative words. Sound mimicative words have wide derivational potential. A considerable number of synonyms of the verb irkadaj “to shout” have been formed with the help of sound-imitating words: avtidaj “shout” (about a fawn); əŋtidəj “shout” (about reindeer); gaktaj “shout” (about a sandpiper); kabevdaj “shout” (about a partridge); kaktaj “shout” (about a loon, a crow); kannjavdaj “shout” (about a gull); kunjadaj “shriek” (about a gull); okokodaj “shout” (about an owl).

Consequently, the study of the process of synonymy in Even indicates that the synonymic inventory of the Even language is enriched from the vocabulary, which includes borrowings from the Sakha and Russian languages. Such sources as archaisms, dialectisms, euphemisms, and figurative words are all involved in the process of synonymization, contributing to the expansion of the stylistic possibilities of the language.

Lexical and Grammatical Categories of Synonyms

The belonging of synonymic words to this or that part of speech should also be taken into account, as A. A. Reformatskii believes: “Words, which function as building blocks in the grammar, are first assigned to one or another part of a speech, which differ not only in their syntactic ability or inability to be used in certain combinations, but also in their morphological properties (both derivational and inflectional); general reference to one or another part of speech is determined by the grammatical meaning of the category, that is, the part of speech” (Reformatskii 1996: 110). On this basis, we may assert: a noun with a noun, an adjective with an adjective, an adverb with an adverb, and a verb with a verb may enter into synonymous relations, that is, the synonymity of words implies their correlation with the same part of speech, but words belonging to different parts of speech cannot enter into synonymous relations with each other. Words synonymous with the same part of speech are interpreted the same way, for example: honrin ∼ nabus “longing,” “boredom,” “an unpleasant feeling that happens when one has nothing to do or does not know what to do, when new impressions, ideas are missing;” hokaŋchidaj ∼ örəldəj ∼ örustəj ∼ əvəldəj “to be glad,” “to have a pleasant feeling;” inindəj ∼ haŋchidaj ∼ mjasamattaj “to laugh,” “to express joy;” njumarin ∼ hadarin ∼ haldjun “shame,” “the feeling of intense embarrassment of knowing that one has done something wrong or is guilty. ”

Thus, the main criteria for determining the synonymity of words as a special lexical phenomenon should be considered to be: 1) semantic proximity; 2) belonging to the same part of speech.

In Even, the following parts of speech were first studied by V. I. Tsintsius (1947), who in her work gives a detailed description of morphology: noun, adjective, verb, numerals, pronoun, adverb. She also includes significant discussion of gerunds, participle, postpositions, particles, and so forth. The followers of V. I. Tsintsius continued to study the doctrine of parts of speech in the Even language, such as K. A. Novikova et al. (1991), V. D. Lebedev (1978), V. A. Robbek (1989, 2007), H. I. Dutkin (1995), and others.

To determine the specifics of the synonymic system of the Even language, a comparison of a number of synonymic rows within the main parts of speech is provided. According to our findings, the majority of synonyms in the lexicon of the Even language are nouns, followed by verbs, and then by adjectives and adverbs. The revealed specificity of the distribution of the Even language synonyms can be explained by the fact that the noun occupies an important place in the morphological resources of this language, which is conditioned by its semantic properties. Examples of noun synonyms include: avuk ∼ higri “towel;” agin ∼ hivun ∼ kjalivun “sharpening stone;” boski ∼ chimət “glasses;” bulduka ∼ mukalra “bump, hillock;” gabuŋa ∼ nəbuŋə “larch;” girasak ∼ najipan “sewing knife;” git ∼ kujkit “blueberry;” kaltami ∼ həvəm “rain hut; glue made of fish bones;” kaŋdun ∼ chəŋgəj ∼ mukətlə “chunk;” humə ∼ tipkə “bag;” huməchin ∼ djajuchin “mystery; secret;” oŋkag ∼ chönnig “feeder;” ota ∼ bijalga ∼ buli “wave;” pəktərəvun ∼ nisaka ∼ nuŋa “gun;” tavachimŋa ∼ halkadamŋa “blacksmith.”

The verbs of the Even language have not been studied in terms of synonymic relationships, although the Even verb is rich in various verb synonyms, for example: gurgəvchidəj ∼ hoŋnadaj “to work;” hoŋdaj ∼ bogordaj “to cry;” inindəj ∼ haŋchidaj ∼ misamattaj “to laugh;” irkadaj ∼ njaradaj “to shout;” dodaj ∼ təgdəj “to sit down;” məluməchiddəj ∼ məklundəddəj “to jump, to hop;” olaldadaj ∼ ŋələldəj “to be frightened;” hətəkəndəj ∼ tusandaj∼ höttəj ∼ tuttəj “to run quickly, to rush;” abgaraldaj ∼ njakasandaj ∼ bəgdədəj “to get better, to recover;” hukləmdəj ∼ amoldaj “to want to sleep;” humkəndəj ∼ hivulchidaj “to whisper;” olbadaj ∼ amanradaj ∼ njadudaj “to be late;” optattaj ∼ alattaj “to wait;” tibalandaj ∼ köŋkədəj “to knock, to strike;” köchukərudəj ∼ tigumkəndəj “to reduce, to diminish;” ökəmdəj ∼ kukudəj “to ask to suckle (of babies);” ŋəriləvchidəj ∼ inəvchidəj “to wait for light. ”

Examples of adjective synonyms include: bərgə ∼ diram ∼ imsəlkən “fat, fatty;” höŋən (songs) ∼ əgden ∼ chələ “big, enormous;” naba ∼ gələvkə ∼ bulus “sad, sorrowful;” hulanja ∼ hutanja ∼ ŋuləne “red, scarlet;” nod ∼ abga∼ gudej “beautiful, glorious, good;” njobati ∼ giltanja “white;” hakarin ∼ jalranja “black, dark;” churunja ∼ əmər “sharp;” higrani ∼ gein “silent, quiet;” hətəkə ∼ hinma ∼ ajiŋ ∼ iba “quick, nimble;” kitiŋi ∼ koriŋi “wrinkly;” buŋnjuli ∼ bultunja “round, ball-shaped.”

Adverbial synonyms occupy a significant place in the lexicon of the Even language. This article analyzes only the most typical and productive adverbial synonyms, for example: huguski ∼ tavuski “inside out, on the contrary;” ələkən ∼ chəvje ∼ hoja ∼ miltərə “many, plenty, plentiful;” ərəgər ∼ gasimich “always, constantly;” gorla ∼ təgələ “far away;” əvsəch ∼ hoch “very.”

The appearance of synonyms occurs in different ways. In the examples cited, only nouns appear as synonyms. The distribution of synonyms in the Even language is due to the predominance of the noun over other parts of speech, due to its semantic properties and potential figurative and expressive possibilities. Functional words and interjections may also enter into synonymic relations. In Even, function words and interjections are few in number and more often act as complete synonyms.

Antonyms of Nouns

Antonymy as one of the most complex and interesting categories in the Even linguistics remains almost unstudied. This article will deal with the antonymic relations of the most significant part of speech in the Even language, namely nouns.

An analysis of antonym structure in the Even language reveals that they can be single-rooted and multi-rooted (Savvinova 2021b: 236). Antonyms with different roots or common language can be represented by different parts of speech. We will consider the peculiarities of multi-root antonymy using the example of nouns, as “representing the class of full-valued words, the noun most fully focuses the features of the word as a bilateral unit in its nominative and signifying functions and can offer much for studying the systemic organization of the vocabulary” (Morozova 1974: 4).

In the Even language, proper nouns and nouns with a specific meaning do not enter into antonymic relations, for example: du “dwelling, burrow, house;” maldyvun “weapon;” tevte “berry.” Alternatively, nouns with abstract meanings enter into antonymic relations: hilus “grief”—nes “happiness;” kusin “war”—ajmuldan “peace;” demkən “hunger”—djalun “fullness;” njaŋsa “dirt”—gelbəti “cleanliness;” kuŋarap “childhood”—hagdin “old age;” girkə “friend”—bulən “enemy;” hökchi “heat”—iŋən’ “cold;” ig “sound”—tivun “silence.”

Noun antonyms can be divided by their lexical meanings into:

1. 1)The names of the phenomena of nature: hedəkən “sunrise”—tikənməj “sunset;” bot “hail”—udan “drizzle, fine rain;” hökchi “heat”—iŋən’ “cold;” bjag “moon”—nöltən “sun;” njanin “sky”—tör “earth;” dolbani “night’—badikar “morning;” dolbani dulakanni “midnight”—inəŋ dulakanni “noon;” ön “tide”—arbati “ebb;” gjavan “dawn”—tikənməj “sunset.” Hökchidu hoja oilkan, girsədu oji nukkottan, hjaltadu djullakkan’ billöttən (hjakita). “He who has many clothes in the heat, in the cool time takes off his clothes, in the frost remains naked (larch)” (Burykin 2001a: 131).
2. 2)The states and characteristics of humans: hilus “grief”—nes “happiness;” demkən “hunger”—djalun “fullness;” girkə “friend”—bulən “enemy;” ban “laziness”—on “activity;” örəldən “joy”—mərgəchin “sorrow;” ininən “laughter”—hoŋan “cry;” ŋərgən “coward”—həŋ “brave one.”
3. 3)Social phenomena and relations: kusin “war”—ajmuldan “peace;” kuŋarap “childhood”—hagdin “old age;” girkə “friend”—bulən “enemy;” öləkchin “deception”—ajdit “truth;” hötədek “rest”—gurgə “work;” dabdukan “victory”—dabdanmaj “defeat.”
4. 4)Spatial relations: inməj “entrance”—nönməj “exit;” njanin “sky”—tör “earth;” hərgi “bottom”—öj “top;” iŋən'gidə “north”—njamgida “south.”
5. 5)Temporal relations: dolba “day”—inəŋ “night;” Dör ətumŋə bisni: gja inəŋ ətuvəttən. Dolba əturi banadmar. Baldiri, göpkənsötkən ovattan (nöltən, atkikan). “There are two watchmen: one keeps watch during the day, the other keeps watch at night. The night guard is lazier. Being lazy, he pretends to hide (the sun, the moon)” (Burykin 2001 a: 118).

Thus, the analysis of antonyms—particularly nouns—shows that only abstract nouns with different lexical meanings enter into antonymic relations.

Conclusions

In this study, the authors have analyzed synonymy and antonymy in the Even language. Examples of synonyms and antonyms and their sources have been identified. The criterion for word synonymity in Even is the semantic proximity of words and belonging to the same part of speech. The analysis of synonyms shows that the sources of synonymy in Even are borrowed words, archaisms, dialectisms, euphemisms, and figurative vocabulary, which expands the stylistic possibilities of the language under study.

Determining the specificity of the synonymic system of the Even language depends on comparing the number of synonymic series within the main parts of speech. The study of synonyms in terms of their distribution by parts of speech shows that the greatest number of synonyms falls to nouns, followed by verbal synonymy and, in descending order, by adjectives and adverbs.

Analysis of the antonyms of nouns of the Even language shows that the antonyms of nouns occur only with nouns of abstract meaning. In terms of their lexical meanings, antonyms are divided into five groups: denoting phenomena of nature; states and characteristics of humans; social phenomena and relations; spatial relations; temporal relations.

The question of synonymy and antonymy in the Even language requires detailed study, so the development of dictionaries of synonyms and antonyms enables the still functioning but endangered lexical material to be fixed. Dictionaries will contribute to the development of the literary language and the terminology of the Even language, and will be a help not only for non-speakers, but also for those who want to learn their native language.