Processes of the church-terminological lexicon determinologization in the Ukrainian language

Section 4. Slavonic languages

Section 4. Slavonic languages

Kovtun Albina Anatoliivna, Y. Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Candidate of Philological Sciences, associate professor of the department of the History and Culture of the Ukrainian language

E-mail: albkovtunSQQ@gmail.com

Processes of the church-terminological lexicon determinologization in the Ukrainian language

Abstract: The subject of our article is the question of development of polysemy in the Ukrainian frequency names of liturgical objects outside the field of application. The study involves finding out the main features of these names determinologization.

For the Ukrainian nation the sphere of religious notions has always been a «source of metaphoricalinnovations» [5, 8], since the frequency of the usage of the Ukrainian religious vocabulary has always been high - from the beginning of Christianization till the modern renewal of its active and passive fund, forms of usage, etc. Even in the era of the fight against religious prejudices the religious layer of vocabulary has remained an important part of mental lexicon, objectivizing the significant fragments of the Ukrainian spiritual life reality. And involvement of the religious-linguistic experience of the society in the speech beyond its «native environment» (in everyday language, journalism, fiction, etc.), according to the researchers, shouldn’t be considered as the lever of the depletion of the religious sphere in people’s life, but as means of the development of new forms of communication [1].

The religious vocabulary cannot be called a new object for research: in post-soviet times the study of its history and functioning in both special and secular speech was activated. In particular, N. Puryaeva indicates that one of the expressions of interaction between the common vocabulary and the church-terminological lexicon are determinologization processes. The researcher also points out that these processes had influenced the least the group of names of liturgical objects:

«Determinologization of church-ritual terms (in particular the names of liturgical objects) was accompanied occasionally with the appearance of non-terminological common meaning <...> In general, the output of church-ritual terms beyond their special usage into the general literary speech took place without changing their semantics» [4, 11]. The subject of our article is the question of development of polysemy in the frequency church-ritual terms - the names of liturgical objects that was formed due to their acquirement of additional lexical-semantic variants (sememes) of commonly used purpose (and in this new function of the term its determinologization takes place). Our task is to elucidate the language mechanism of such determinologization.

Let’s demonstrate the tendency of the lexemes from the religious sphere to acquire commonly used meanings on the examples of several names for liturgical objects. For a long time a lexeme елей (unction) that was borrowed from the Greek language (elatv) through Old Slavonic was functioning in the direct meanings (see e. g. [6, 278]): in general «the olive oil» (Лампадка без елея и без душЪ тЪло,/Тако и вЪра без дЪл некрасна всецЪло. - A lamp without unction and a body without soul/So is also faith without action not entirely beautiful (from Ukr. poetry of the XVIII century)) and in special (religious) «the oil for church rituals (fragrant oil

Processes of the church-terminological lexicon determinologization in the Ukrainian language

of myrrh, cinnamon, cane, bay trees and olive oil)» (А це прошу прийняти й записать намонастир мою малу лепту: ладан, смирну i елей, - промовив нишком.

- And this I ask to accept and write for the monastery as my small contribution: frankincense, myrrh and unction,

- said quietly (I. Nechuy-Levyts’kyi)). From the XX century the dictionaries also register the figurative meanings as a result of multiple usage of the lexeme елей: «something that soothes, comforts, praises» (Ц слова мастили елеем мет серце. - These words smeared my heart with unction (V Shevchuk)) and «apparent meekness, insincerity, sweet news» (Юви лейний елей. - Jubilee unction (V Symonenko)). In the development of semantics the metaphorical transfer of meaning is noticeable, in particular characteristics shift of religious realities in nonreligious. Within terminological meaning the lexeme елей had clearly defined distributional parameters: evaluative adjectives (елей - пахучий, дорогий, благо-говшний - unction -fragrant, expensive, reverent), verbs with the meaning «a function aimed at an object» (елей - помазати, святити, текти - unction - to anoint, consecrate, flow) that filled the whole amount of semantic structures of religious sememe. In the combination with other lexemes (То батогом/Жене в облг а то елеем манить. - Sometimes he chases with a whip to a field, and then lures with unction (М. Kolodii); Розводити елей (про кого-небудь) -To dilute unction (about somebody)) the actualization of semantic components from the definition of a main (religious) meaning of «the oil for church rituals» takes place but with some modifications: ‘usefulness’ (in a religious meaning - usefulness from the ceremonial and symbolic protection of Christians, healing for the sick and disabled, and in commonly used meaning- it’s a benefit that depends on someone’s will); ‘exclusiveness’ (in the religious meaning exclusiveness is related to the complexity of the combination of rather expensive ingredients of the ceremonial oil, method of its production, and in commonly used meaning - exclusivity of somebody’s privilege, attractiveness, etc.). The update of the peripheral unit of the religious meaning of the lexeme елей influenced the change of semantic field «a specific name (matter) - an abstract name (praise, pleasure, insincerity)». The creative efforts of the native speakers are aimed at overcoming the

usual syntagmatic term. Beyond this syntagmatics the term loses its signified and definitive properties that are caused by the tendencies of the development of the language preferences of a certain age. According to our research, the popularity of the involvement of the religious vocabulary in microcontexts of ironic sphere isn’t lessened: updating the compatibility of religious vocabulary in the colloquial speech native speakers change its functional status. Thus, recently, in 2012, authors of one of the latest Ukrainian explanatory dictionaries [6], after making sure there’s a high enough frequency of the usage of the figurative meaning «apparent meekness, insincerity, sweet news» of the lexeme елей, fixed this meaning in the dictionary (using the adjective елейний (unctuous) and a similar meaning has been already fixed in dictionaries earlier: «insincerely gentle, seemingly pious» (елейний голосок, елейний вираз обличчя -unctuous voice, unctuous expression) [7, II, 498].

It’s impossible to foresee all the renovations of compatibility of words: during every specific nominative act particular semantic units are created. They contain only a part of denotatum, and in many derived meanings the speakers represent their own creativity, associations that often have subjective concepts through their inner form. That’s why in the material under our research, apart from figurative meanings of determinologized names of liturgical objects, we noticed a number of figurative usages of such names - «this is either a trail of former usages of a word that didn’t create a separate meaning, or a new usage of one of the meanings of this word» [3, 22]; they were not fixed by lexicographers as usual, however, let’s note that the criterion of fixation/non-fixation in dictionaries is insufficiently reliable for distinction of figurative meanings and figurative usages since, according to our observation, there are many commonly known figurative meanings in Ukrainian that are forgotten by lexicographers without reason, e. g. lexemes чернець and черниця (monk and nun) that are known in figurative meaning «hermit - anchoress», but in dictionaries they are provided only for the lexeme чернець (monk) [7, XI, 311] or are not presented at all [7, 1269].

There are many determinologized figurative uses of the names of liturgical realities, e. g., Щоб слово пламенем взялось <...> Те слово, Божее ка19

Section 4. Slavonic languages

дило,/Кадило ктини. - In order for the word to burn <...> That word is a God&s incensory,/Incensory of the truth (T. Shevchenko). Speakers «push» out of their arch-memory the smallest parts of religious meaning that are charged with the powerful sacral energy which causes transformation of the word semantic structure. And redistribution of its elementary meanings «resembles the chemical reaction the result ofwhich may be the «ejection» of a new/unexpected meaning-symbol to the surface» [2, 179]. Examples of symbolic meanings: ладан, смирна (frankincense, myrrh) - the symbol of peace and calmness: Думаеш, фашисти принесуть ладан i смирну? Болячку i погибель принесуть вам. - Do you think the fascists will bring frankincense and myrrh? Disease and death they will bring to you; кона (icon) (M. Stelmakh) - the symbol of idolatry: Коли iM (роаянам. - А. К.) забрали одш кони, вони знайшли собi rnmi... (O. Zabuzhko) - When one icon was taken from them (the Russians. - A. K.), they found themselves another one; риза (chasuble) - a symbol of conscience: «Стара» емкращя <...> ii руки i ризи були чистi eid будь-яких nid-корень, комnромidв. - The ««old» emigration <...> its hands and chasubles were clean of any conquests, compromises; риза (chasuble) (I. Dziuba) - a symbol of the priest’s title: Ризо, ризо! Як небагатьох ти опреподобила!Як багатьох ти зробила нечестиви-ми, зчарувала. - Chasuble, o chasuble! So many you have made righteous! So many you have charmed and made them sinners (from the newspaper The Mirror of The Week”, 2002, № 46). Thus symbolism is one of the important features of determinological processes in the names of liturgical realities and the speakers’ appeal to them as the carriers of the ultimate truth with the aim of depicting the nature of denotata.

Non-terminological formations entered the group of vocabulary due to the special attitude of Ukrainians to every liturgical reality. Thereby the writers can develop individual metaphors with the festive flair and positive expression. E. g. with the help of lexeme корогва (archaic хоругов) (gonfalon, banner) one can well portray the beauty of the native nature: Ось рiчка, що мае чотири броди, ось i при-нишкле село з корогвами тополь. - Here is the river that has four fords, and here’s the village fallen silent

with the banners of poplars (M. Stelmakh); Обабiч липового шляху, як i колись, з пагорба на пагорб т-дiймалися корогви молодого жита. - On both sides of linden way just like before the banners of young rye were raising from one hill to another (М. Stelmakh); Небесна синя хоругов нам вигрйа на вiчному осонш i щедрi очЬ й радкш долот. - The sky blue banners warmed us the eternal sunlight and generous eyes, and merry palms (V. Stus); <...> досвтку рожева хоругов. - Ne dawn’s pink banner (V. Stus).

It’s necessary to recognize, that in the Soviet Union it was possible to use the names of liturgical realities for the amplification of the negative perception of a signified phenomenon by the society that was raised on different cultural values: Святи його, братва, святою водою! - гукнув Македон, ре-гочучи, i раптом надiв на голову цеберку з помиями. - Bless him, lads, with holy water! - Makedon shouted laughing and suddenly he put on his head a bucket with slops (O. Kopylenko). These enantiosemic usages «expose» the primitive intellect and the level of education of ideological speakers and neutralize the sacral concepts. However, if the speaker felt that the religious name wouldn’t fully express the expressive-pragmatic organization of the text needed for recipients, then he could substitute this name with more expressive means. E. g., in a context Та барахло яке ж прекрасне - ряси, свiчки, паникадила, парфуми й щле барило горики. - And that junk is so beautiful - robes, candles, incense, perfumes and whole barrel of vodka (О. Kopylenko) the speaker uses ironically the lexeme парфуми (perfumes) with a prominent denotative seme ‘pleasant fragrance’ instead of ладан, елей, смирна (incense, oil, myrrh). This kind of substitute reproduces the feeling of speaker’s euphoria from the found барила горики (barrel of vodka) among church implements that the speaker calls прекрасне барахло (beautiful junk), using oxymoron.

We assume that the perspective aspect of the research ofsemantic development ofliturgical names is the study of mechanisms of formation of modern neologisms of the type фешн-кона (fashion-icon) (Брайан Джоунс був гетальним митцем, попзркою, фешн-коною та бабкм. - Bryan Jones was a genius artist, pop-star, fashion-icon and a womanizer (from the site of the movie news - kino-teatr. in. ua, 2009)).

Processes of the church-terminological lexicon determinologization in the Ukrainian language

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