FUNCTIONING OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE PRODUCT NOMINATIONS IN UKRAINIAN SPELLS

Abstract

Introduction. Ukrainian spells as a unique phenomenon of national culture, having absorbed the wisdom of many generations, express the moral and ethical worldview of the people. They are closely related to folk medicine, meteorology, astronomy, economy, natural forces, elements, dishes, drinks, etc., reflect the sacred experience of Ukrainian people and require further study.
Purpose. To study the vocabulary for the designation of food and beverages in the texts of Ukrainian folk spells.
Methods. The research methodology is represented by a set of methods used in modern linguistics, such as descriptive, component, comparative and transformational methods.
Results. In the texts of Ukrainian spells, food and drinks are usually elements of the ceremony. They are present in the magical ritual both passively and actively, participating in ritual actions. In the texts of Ukrainian spells, food and beverages have the following meanings: sweet milk, thick milk, thick sour cream, good cheese, white cheese, yellow butter, green whey, delicious bread, holy water, holy lard, sugary snacks, honey drinks. The personified disease in the spells is offered with sugary snacks and honey drinks. The
lexeme food can carry negative connotations, being a means of transmitting the disease; the egg serves as an object on which fears are pumped out; diseases are pronounced on salt.
Originality. We defined communicative-semantic types of spells, in which lexemes for marking food and drinks can function. They are spells-motivation, spells-desire, spells-narrative.
Conclusion. In the texts of Ukrainian folk spells, lexemes function for the following food and drinks: bread, bread-salt, kulish, sour cream, cheese, butter, poppy seeds, lard, honey, beets, carrots, water, milk, and whey. The symbolic meaning of food and beverage nominations is revealed within the context of a particular spell. One of the types of texts with a persuasive meaning, in which the studied lexemes operate, are exchange formulas. In the texts of spells, there are comparative constructions (for example, in
whispering from every disease, the purity of milk is compared to the purity of gold). Water in the spells is holy and helpful. Poppy seed is an integral component of spells from the illness, the bottom, as well as the prayer from the snake. Bread in spells is the most important food and a symbol of prosperity.