Leksyka pola semantycznego "duchowość" w słownikach opisowych języka rosyjskiego końca XX wieku

Abstract

The subject of this monograph is the lexis representing the semantic field of “spirituality” selected from descriptive dictionaries of the Russian language of the late 20th century. The term "spirituality" is understood in it as a part of the inner world of man, the essence of which constitutes a way of perceiving the cause and sense of existence on earth, faith in God and related religious and social attitudes. Since Orthodoxy is the nucleus of Russian culture and carrier of its traditional values, it seems right to restrict the analysis to this field. Undertaking this topic was prompted by its importance and topicality – the revival of the spiritual lives of Russians after religious repression, anti-religious propaganda, censorship and ideological indoctrination. The analysis of the selected vocabulary in the context of recent social and political changes in the Russian state has made it possible to determine if and to what extent the Soviet period had an impact on the contemporary spirituality of Russians in the context of language, whether the collapse of the values and ideals of communism is the only reason for the changes observed, and whether the influence of other factors, e.g. globalisation or the secularization of society, can be noted. The lexical material analysed in this research was selected from two basic lexicographic sources of the Russian language published in the post-Soviet era, i.e. Большой толковый словарь русского языка, edited by S.A. Kuznietsov (1st edition, 1998; later referred to as: BTS) and Толковый словарь русского языка, S. I. Ozhegov and N. J. Shvedova (4th edition, 2004; later referred to as: OSz-4). The material is not cited in its entirety, but rather limited to selected examples illustrating clear changes in the lexical area explored. This dissertation consists of an Introduction, which presents, among others, the assumptions of the thesis and the characterised source database, three chapters discussing lexical material, Conclusion, Bibliography and Index of Lexical Units Cited the in Work. In the first chapter, a synchronous analysis of the confessional lexis concerning its dictionary description was conducted. The analysis indicated that this area was widely represented in lexicographic sources of the late 20th century. Units representing all of the semantic microfields associated with this fragment of reality including the concept of faith and terminology related to theology, the sacraments, church services, the cycle of feasts, scared buildings, church architecture, sacred objects, liturgical vestments and utensils, and the clergy and laity are recorded in them. The definitions of the lexemes are presented mainly in a natural way in accordance with Orthodox teaching, and frequently include elements of encyclopedism. The presence of encyclopedic information for confessional lexemes is undoubtedly a requirement of the times – the need for religious education in a society that functioned for over 70 years in atheistic reality. Chapter two and three present a lexis of Orthodox spirituality in diachronic description, which allows for revealing a number of developmental tendencies of a given vocabulary. Lexical material was presented in two chapters as a result of a clear separation of two distinct semantic areas: confessional lexis directly pointing to the religious sphere (Orthodoxy) and described in dictionaries as belonging to this area, and the lexis of “spiritual morality”, which on the one hand represents the domain of Christian morality, although in contemporary lexicographic sources it is presented in a secular manner without reference to the sphere of the sacred. The analysis of the confessional vocabulary carried out in chapter two indicates that this area was subject to change in descriptive dictionaries of the Russian language of the late 20th century. The evident tendency is the significant expansion of the religious sphere and its rehabilitation. Despite the fact that this research relates to general language dictionaries, in which it is not possible to present the confessional lexis comprehensively, a considerable qualitative increase in recorded units can be observed, not only those basic for the knowledge of Orthodoxy and most active in the language, such as: Благовещение, всенощное бдение, молитвослов, рукоположить, but also narrowly-specialised terms, such as илитон, потир, саккос, ставропигия, etc. Among the qualitative changes, the most prominent process is the deideologization of a given lexis. The lexemes lose the elements and negative qualifiers given to them in the Soviet era and are neutralized (see, e.g. Евангелие). The rehabilitation of vocabulary also occurs at the graphic level. The lexis, which was included in passive dictionary resources in the previous period due to its association with the sphere of sacrum, has been updated (e.g. греховный, инок). Restoring the confessional meaning of polysemic phrases (e.g. брак) is also an active process. Directions of stylistic changes in the analysed vocabulary are not yet clearly identified, but a general tendency of raising its rank can be noted. The semantic transformation in the analysed lexical material are sporadic. Confessional lexis is a domain that is quite semantically hermetic and hardly susceptible to change. The activity of confessionalisms in language leads to the development of figurative and secondary meanings functioning dynamically outside the sphere of sacrum (see, e.g. великомученик). However, the religious semantics of the lexemes are significantly supplemented in dictionaries. The enrichment of dictionary descriptions appears both at the level of definitions, by including additional semantic elements such as ‘confessional affiliation’, ‘functional purpose’, ‘place in hierarchy’, etc. and at the non-definitive level (adding illustrations, phrases, encyclopedic notes, etc.). As the analysis indicates, dictionaries of the late 20th century are not completely freed from the influence of Soviet ideological and lexicography. A group of lexemes is clearly separated, whose contemporary inclusion among archaisms seems to be in several cases unjustified (see e.g. молитвенник, старец), and also a group of units described in lexicographic sources with the use of depreciating qualifiers and expressions such as в христианской мифологии, по преданию, библейская легенда and служитель культа (see, e.g. архангел, манна). Chapter three of this dissertation address the lexis associated with “spiritual morality” in Russian lexicographic sources. The changes that have been observed in this area are not so regular, as in the case of confessional lexis, because the lexical material was discussed in two semantic fields – good and evil, positive and negative attitudes and behaviours from the Christian perspective. Terminology related to Christian morality presented in Russian language dictionaries in the late 20th century is most often deprived of religious connotations, which suggests that in common use, they function as elements of secular morality. Despite the fact that communism significantly interfered in human morality, descriptions of the lexes in this field were not distorted to the same extent as in the case of the confessional lexis, in Soviet dictionaries. A comparison of dictionary entries in Soviet sources and dictionaries of the late 20th century indicates certain phenomena associated with the collapse of Soviet ideology and values including e.g. a return of elements of lexemes from passive vocabulary (e.g. благочестие, гордыня, подаяние, чревоугодие), updated units which concerned concepts that were inconsistent or “uncomfortable” for Soviet ideology (e.g. милосердие, благотворительность), and also deideologization or depoliticization of certain lexemes (e.g. благо, гордость, нравственность). For many of them, it is difficult to clearly state if the semantic transformations are the result of innovations of the Soviet era or global civilizational transformations. Undoubtedly, the communist regime, followed by a rather sudden collapse of its values and ideals, brought about an axiological relaxation of society. This moral “instability” can also be perceived in dictionary descriptions. A significant part of the lexical units of this semantic field is not clear-cut and can be used both in contexts of negation and also affirmation (see, e.g.: зависть, самолюбие, любовь, смирение, эгоизм, злость, etc.) While summarizing the results of the analysis, it should be stated that the state of the lexis representing the semantic field “spirituality” in descriptive dictionaries of the Russian language at the beginning of the 21st century indicates a stage of significant, but still incomplete revision and stabilization. However, an important step has been made toward rebuilding the culture of Russian Orthodoxy.