Categories of Space and Time in the Christian Supertext of the Explanatory Dictionary

Abstract

This article examines religious terminology (religious vocabulary recorded in explanatory dictionaries of the Russian literary language) from the standpoint of the categorial-textual approach. The methodological basis of the research proceeds from the fact that religionyms as a system-structural integrity form a special kind of supertext in the explanatory dictionary, which is organised by universal text categories based on their thematic unity. The article analyses the textual categories of space and time which structure the supertext. The study aims to identify the specificity of categories, which are peculiar to the Christian worldview and are reflected in the explanatory dictionary. The study mostly employs the categorial-textual analysis method and techniques of the component and contextual analysis methods. The most important conclusions drawn are that the spatial category of the supertext of religionyms includes objective and conceptual spaces. Objective space is based on the hierarchical dichotomy of “the earthly” and “the heavenly”. Earthly space is structured as a field where the core is the temple, the prototypical place, the nearest periphery is the place in the temple and near the temple, while the far periphery is the territory united by Christianity. Heavenly space is a linear vertical structure with the poles in the form of heaven and hell. Conceptual space can be represented as an “inverted cone” where the concrete turns into the abstract and opens into general cultural space. The Chronos of religious discourse represents the dichotomy “the temporal” vs “the eternal”. The category of temporality in the supertext of religious names is represented by objective time existing both in profane and sacred manifestations. The general conclusion is that the types of space and time in the Christian explanatory dictionary supertext do not contradict the chronotope of religious texts. The study refers to examples from the following explanatory dictionaries: The Dictionary of the Russian Language by S. I. Ozhegov (1953); The Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by S. I. Ozhegov and N. Yu. Shvedova (1994); and The Dictionary of the Russian Language edited by A. P. Evgenyeva (1985–1988).