Thepeculiarities of the sacred lexis usage in traditional and alternative sermon texts

Abstract

The article outlines the lexical devices realizing sacrality in sermon texts. The article offers the author’s definition of the category of sacrality, determines the peculiarities of religious doctrine of Anglican church and Anglican sermon in particular. The peculiarities of traditional institutional and alternative sermons are being traced and analysed. The research has been carried out on the basis of 14 oral traditional sermons in the English language held during the public service in Anglican church and 11 alternative sermons conducted by alternative gospellers in concert-halls, stadiums, etc. The main purpose of the article is to outline the lexical devices realizing sacrality in sermon texts. There search has been helpful to find out that being the secondary realization of sacral texts by itself the sermon text demonstrates frequent usage of various groups of sacral lexicon, namely specific conceptual terms introducing religious ideas and concepts; expressions borrowed from the initial original sacral texts (the so called biblical expressions); colloquial expressions which acquire religious sense within the attendant context of the sermon and by means of the latter obtain its religious meaning and thus entering the semantic field of religion.