The Image of Ekaterinburg through the Prism of Urbanonymic Discourse

The article explores the potential of a discursive approach and the concept of urbanonymic discourse to analyze urban toponymy as a reflection of a city’s image and territorial identity. The authors employ a semiotic perspective, viewing urban space as a text. Within this framework, urbanonymic discourse is defined as a collection of iconic works or microtexts that integrate urban toponyms with their verbal and non-verbal contexts, connected both semantically and spatially. The study identifies two types of microtexts within urbanonymic discourse: monosemiotic and polysemiotic. Monosemiotic urbanonymic microtexts comprise clusters of urban toponyms linked by a common nominative theme. Polysemiotic urbanonymic microtexts, in contrast, are symbolic combinations of urbanonyms and non-verbal elements that are thematically and semantically interrelated. Special attention is given to the phenomenon of urbanonymic “echo,” regarded as a specific form of polysemiotic microtext. In Ekaterinburg’s urbanonymic discourse, key nominative themes include national and regional history, literature, sport, science and education, as well as the city’s distinctive economic activities. Spatial analysis shows that the city center predominantly features microtexts associated with themes of history, governance, business, art, and science, while microtexts reflecting industrial and transport themes are concentrated in specific districts and neighborhoods. The city’s toponymic “portrait” underscores a strong connection to historical roots, an interplay of different eras, and a unique fusion of industry and culture. Microtexts from various parts of Ekaterinburg also evoke allusions to lost landmarks and past urban landscapes. The authors argue that the discursive approach provides a valuable framework for the comprehensive analysis of urbanonyms in other cities. This approach offers deeper insights into territorial identity and holds practical significance for toponymic policy and place branding.