Folk Linguoculture of Borderland East Slavic Ethnocontact Locus: A Lexical-Phrazeological Perspective

This article explores the symbolic significance oflexemes and phraseological units documented in the discourse of dialect speakers within the ritual traditions of the Bryansk-HomelChernigov borderland. The study examines the vocabulary and phraseology associated with calendar celebrations, life cycle rituals, folk beliefs, traditional medicine, and magic. The research material consists of conversations with bearers of traditional culture from the Novozybkov urban district in Bryansk Oblast. The methodologies employed include discursive analysis, componential analysis, semantic and contextual analysis, and descriptive methods. It is established that the semantics of lexical-phraseological units pertaining to calendar festivities is characterized by a wide range of symbolic meanings, including prohibitions on sewing, abundance, ritual purification, initiation, and more. Lexemes and phraseological expressions related to life cycle rituals also encompass a broad spectrum of symbolic interpretations, such as initiation, prosperity, refusal during courtship, separation, gifting, and others. The lexical-phraseological layer associated with folk beliefs captures the symbolism of cyclical movement, offerings to the deceased, and the transformation of souls into zoomorphic images, among other themes. In narratives concerning folk medicine and magic, lexical-phraseological units convey symbolic meanings related to enmity, destruction, healing energy, and more. The examined rituals perform generative and apotropaic functions while also possessing harmful characteristics.