Article

Name: Mythologeme Mat’-Syra-Zemlya (Damp Mother Earth) in the Russian language picture of the world

Authors: M. V. Pimenova, E. A. Moshina

Institute of Foreign Languages, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation; Military Institute (Engineering) of the Military Academy of Logistics Army General A. V. Khrulev St., Petersburg, Russian Federation

In the section Linguistics

Abstract: The paper presents the study of the mythologeme Mat’-Syra-Zemlya (Damp Mother Earth) as a part of the Russian language picture of the world. Mythologeme is a phenomenon of language consciousness going back to a certain archetype. The authors have revealed that the linguistic consciousness of the Russian language native speakers firmly holds the linguoculturological meanings of the mythologeme under study, with most striking, firmly rooted in the Russian language picture of the world, the differential signs associated with this mythologeme being: ‘person (female)’ (48.5 %), ‘mother’ (26.3 %), ‘goddess’ (17.3 %), ‘sur-face’ (5.4 %), ‘grave’ (2.5 %). The mythologeme Mat’-Syra-Zemlya combines two differen-tial signs: ‘birth’ and ‘death’. The earth is the birth womb and grave into which a person leaves after death. There is evidence of syncretism of sememes due to the change of religion: the adoption of Christianity when a new ritual practice of funerals came to Russian culture. According to the analysis, the mythologeme Mat’-Syra-Zemlya implements a complex of signs in the Russian linguistic culture, with the prototype being a more ancient mythologeme – Velikaya Boginya Mat’ (the Great Mother Goddess). The study has revealed the following associative meanings related to the mythologeme Mat’-Syra-Zemlya in the Rus-sian linguistic culture: 1. Earthly life in this world; 2. Agricultural activities of man (plowing); 3. Family – earthly and heavenly; 4. Ritual practice (oath, frankincense; handful / pinch of land transported to a new land); 5. Death and funeral; 6. Birth and return to earth.

Keywords: theomorphism, myth, mythologeme, linguistic culture, language picture of the world

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