EPITHETIC OBJECTIVATION OF THE ETHNO-CULTURAL CODES

Abstract

The understanding of the world and its interpretation are vividly reflected by the people with the help of tropes. The identification of ethnocultural parameters in tropes, particularly in epithets, is an important aspect of anthropocentric studies. The trope system clearly represents the peculiarity of the linguistic thinking of an ethnos. The research is aimed at identifying the connotative nature of epithets, their ethno-cultural semantics and their characteristics as an indicator of the ethno-cultural code. The purpose of the article is to correlate folklore epithets with ethnocultural codes of Ukrainians. To achieve this, the following tasks were solved: 1) epithet phrases were detected; 2) epithets within the tropes of the axis of pseudo-identity were analyzed; 3) ethnocultural parameters of epithets in love songs are defined. The object of the research is the artistic speech of family and household lyrics, the subject is the peculiarities of reflecting ethnocultural ideas using the epithet system. The collection “Ukrainian folk songs: family and household lyrics” served as the source base. Usual-associative epithets as permanent epithets of the folklore text represent various ethno-cultural codes of the Ukrainian people recorded in love songs. Such songs are different in subject matter, as they describe girlish beauty, dating, faithful love, jealousy, betrayal, separation, unfaithful love, quarrels, etc. The semantic arsenal of epithets in these songs is insignificant, adjectives with the meaning of color prevail. The spectrum of epithets is quite diverse in form, since different forms of adjectives function within the studied compounds. Epithets acquire a positive connotation due to word-forming affixes that add shades of caressing, gentleness, compassion, solemnity, etc. In the collected and analyzed material, anthropic, floristic, faunonymous and artifactual codes are implemented, based on the epithet as a trope of the axis of pseudo-identity. Anthropic ethno-cultural code is embodied most widely, it covers ideas about girls and boys, formed with the help of coloristic epithets expressed by qualitative adjectives. To a lesser extent, they are in demand in the reproduction of floristic, faunal and artifactual ethnocultural codes.