Res Humanitariae

The article focuses on the study of the concept LAW / ЗАКОН in the English and Ukrainian linguacultures. The verbal representation of the concept LAW / ЗАКОН has been analyzed from a diachronic perspective. The system of semantic changes affecting the emergence of modern English and Ukrainian legal terminology has been reconstructed. The basic archetypes of the Anglo-Saxon and Ukrainian legal cultures have been detected. The comparative analysis of paremiological representation of the concept LAW / ЗАКОН in the English and Ukrainian languages has been conducted. The universal and national specific conceptions of the Anglo-Saxon and Ukrainian ethnoses of the phenomenon of law have been revealed. The influence of folklore on the development of legal thinking of the Anglo-Saxons and Ukrainians has been described.

The article presents and analyses the ethnomusicological terminology used by Professor Mykolas Biržiška (1882–1962), an outstanding scholar, publicist, and researcher of traditional Lithuanian songs. The scientific activity of M. Biržiška was very extensive. He researched old Lithuanian literature, wrote textbooks, and published many articles. They include ‘The Life and Writings of Donelaitis’, ‘Textbook of Lithuanian Song Literature’, ‘The History of Our Literature’, ‘Our Ancient Writings’, ‘Old Vilnius University’, ‘Lithuanian Geography’, and others. He was particularly interested in the history of traditional Lithuanian culture, and tried to systematise Lithuanian literature, provide a general overview of it, and systematise all collected Lithuanian folk songs. He drew attention to various important features of Lithuanian folk songs in his writings. An important part of this research was devoted to the analysis of the composition of Lithuanian folk songs and the development of a system for their classification. In Biržiška’s times the dictionary of Lithuanian ethnomusicological terminology had not yet been formed, so he had to create new terms and propose new concepts for these terms. His works on the creation of ethnomusicological terminology are also of interest to contemporary scholars: ethnomusicologists, folklorists, and researchers of traditional Lithuanian singing and instrumental folklore.

The article deals with the peculiarities of the concept of motivation in word formative, nominative, linguacognitive aspects, as well as a general understanding of motivation in connection with the doctrine of the process of semiosis and the internal form of the word. In particular, the motivation in the derivational aspect is understood as the process of formation of the semantic and formal connection of the derived word with the formative one within the sign code of the language system, in the nominative – the formal and semantic connection between words as signs (expression and content plans), realized in the formation of words; in linguacognitive – the establishment of a semantic and formal dependence between the motivator and the derivative by a nominative unit (a motivated sign) based on the connections of different components of the knowledge structure about what is meant in the ethnic consciousness.

In context of the cultural identity and regional studies, the article evaluates the contribution of researchers from Kurzeme Institute of Humanities, Liepāja University, into research and preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of Kurzeme region. The aim, the main tasks, the development of conception and the course of implementation of The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Kurzeme Culture (since 2012) are described as well as its thematic sections (biographies of the prominent personalities in literature and theatre, and the cultural values they have created after Latvia regained its independence). The examples give an insight into the dictionary’s content and provide the evidence for analysis of the main problems in material selection, development of the body, structure and content of the dictionary entries. The article also indicates the possible solutions in the future (development of other thematic sections, addition of audio and video recordings) and discusses the possibility of digitization of the dictionary in order to ensure its accessibility to large audiences.

The representation of the witch in Lithuanian mythological folk narratives and beliefs and her malicious activities as well as ways of preventive protection against these malicious activities are introduced in the present article. No focus was laid on numerous diverse malicious activities of the witch which encompass various fields of human life and the considerable number of ways and measures to protect against them in folk narratives and beliefs as passed on by people so far. Important to mention that the witch of the folk tales that is different from mythological folk narratives’ one is not ascribed to the object of research; and also, the sorceresses operating in mythological folk narratives are not ascribed there – because of their functions that do not concur with the ones performed by witches. The aim is to analyse the material found in written sources about the wrecking of the folk witch and the human preventive protection measures against witch wrecking ways. The objectives of the thesis: to distinguish the preventive ways of protection from witch wrecking found in folk narratives and beliefs; to distinguish between the potential universal protection measures against witch wrecking; to assess the intensity of witch wrecking during calendar feasts and to analyse the degree of variation of typical protection measures; to assess the intensity of witch wrecking and also the need of preventive protection during family feasts. The descriptive, the comparative and the interpretative methods were employed in the study.

In the article the principles of text analysis within the limits of thematic criticism are applied to investigate Nelė Mazalaitė’s (1907–1993) novel “In the mist” (Lith. „Migloje“). The main implications of the text, related with the theme of the sea, as projected by the artificial consciousness, are observed. The leitmotif of the sea is analyzed through the most significant semantic aspects which form the structure of the imagery of the novel, plot development, style, and characters. Romantic, fairy, and musical connotations reveal the theme of the sea. The sea becomes the archetype of the beginning as life and festival and tranquility, death. The souls of characters are viewed in the light of the meanings of the sea as mist, waiting, freedom. Miscellaneous expression of the leitmotif of the sea in Nelė Mazalaitė’s novel makes it possible to speak about transcendental relationship between personality and sea, marine worldview and culture.

The movement of Vikings not for all regions of our continent was concussion of bases of public life. In Grobiņa and on Kaup Scandinavians didn’t manage to take decisive places in these settlements and their activity proceeded under strict control of local power structures. Westbaltic sacral phenomenon became the absence reason in Grobiņa and Kaup of settlements with the lines typical for the trade and craft settlement of an era of Vikings.

This article focuses on compound nouns and adjectives in the first dictionary by K. Sirvydis Promptuarium dictionum Polonicarum, Latinarum et Lituanicarum. The analysed compounds are firstly divided into groups according to the part of speech the constituents of the compound belong to, seeking to identify the most productive model of compounds in this 17th-century source. Moreover, attention is also paid to the relationship between elements of compound words and to rare compound words of indirect meaning. Finally, the use of Lithuanian compounds is compared to neighbouring Polish words, to clarify if Sirvydas tended to use mechanical translation.

The article discusses the question of whether everyday life in an ordinary small Lithuanian town is indeed inactive, stagnant, empty and immobile. Mobility in everyday life is analysed through the habits of locals in the town of Josvainiai, and relations with the nearest cities and relatives living abroad. In analysing mobility, the main focus is on areas of everyday life such as work, consumption, communication and leisure. The article analyses data from a field study carried out in Josvainiai from July 2019 to January 2020.

This article open national connection of spring Pydlyassha folklore on the base of comparison with repertoire of neighbour ethnographical regions. The comparative analysys of song examples from Pydlyassha is realized on the foundation comparison of main motive of Pydlyassha spring songs and neighbouring ethnographical songs. The article also analyses existing different kind of names for spring calendar songs on the territory of Pydlyassha and other neighbouring regions.