Folk and Dialectal Names of the Genera of Plants in Contemporary Lithuanian Prose Cover Image

Liaudiški ir tarmiški augalų genčių vardai šiuolaikinėje lietuvių prozoje
Folk and Dialectal Names of the Genera of Plants in Contemporary Lithuanian Prose

Author(s): Aurelija Gritėnienė
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore, Theoretical Linguistics, Lexis, Lithuanian Literature, Baltic Languages
Published by: Lietuvių Kalbos Institutas
Keywords: artistic style; prose; name of the plant; dialecticism; colloquialism;

Summary/Abstract: The object of research presented in the article is 203 one-word names of the genera of plants from 80 works of 49 authors of contemporary Lithuanian prose which are in some way (by their root, meaning, formation or phonetic composition) different from their scientific names. The names of plants which do not belong to the standard lexis, have clear features of regionalism and are more commonly used in one or several dialects are referred to as dialecticisms or dialectal names of plants in the article. The names of plants having a different root than that usually used in scientific terminology but belonging to general lexis, i.e. known to nearly all users of the Lithuanian language and having no clear links with any of the dialects, are referred to as folk names of plants or colloquialisms. The main research aim is to identify what folk and dialectal one-word names of the genera of plants appear in contemporary Lithuanian prose, to analyse their structure, origin and prevalence and to discuss the functions and context of their use in the texts of fiction.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 72
  • Page Range: 85-110
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: Lithuanian