The Concept of jūra [the sea] in the ethnographic region of Aukštaitija

LTStraipsnyje etnolingvistiniu aspektu analizuojami jūros sąvokos kalbinės raiškos ypatumai Aukštaitijos etnografiniame regione, beveik sutampančiame su rytų aukštaičių šnektų plotu. Akivaizdu, kad dėl geografinės ir politinės padėties, taip pat menko ekonominio susisaistymo su jūra (aukštaičiai nesivertė žvejyba jūroje ar prekyba jūros keliais) kalbinė šios sąvokos realizacija yra gana skurdi. Kalbiniai duomenys rodo, kad leksema jūra paliudyta ne visose rytų aukštaičių patarmėse. Be to, vartojimo pavyzdžiai rodo, jog jūra yra suvokiama kaip mistinė / svetima / grėsminga, susijusi su jaunuolių darbine / karine veikla ar jų žūties, vieta. Ši leksema džn. reiškia 'didelį vandens plotą' ir yra vartojama kaip leksemos mãrios 'didelis (gėlo) vandens telkinys' sinonimas. Ypač retai vartojama perkeltine reikšme 'ko nors daugybė'. Kai kuriose patarmėse nepaliudyta ir šios leksemos vedinių (pvz.: nefiksuojami nei deminutyvai (jūrẽlės ir pan.), nei būdvardžiai (jūrinis) ir pan.). Aukštaičiai dažniau vartoja leksemą mãrios. Jos reikšmių sistema iš esmės sinonimiška leksemai jūra. Žodžio mãrios vedinių šnekamojoje rytų aukštaičių kalboje taip pat nedaug. Deminutyvas marẽlės paliudytas tautosakoje, dažniausiai vartojamas samplaikoje jūrės marẽlės. Taigi straipsnyje remiantis kalbiniais duomenimis, daroma išvada, kad leksemos jūra ir mãrios Aukštaitijos etnografiniame regione kartais gali būti absoliučiaisiais sinonimais, nes neutralizuojamas skiriamasis 'sūraus vandens' semantinis požymis. Vadinasi, galima teigti Aukštaitijos etnografinio regiono atstovus išlaikius tradicinį konceptą, kuris senesnis nei įsitvirtinęs bendrinėje kalboje. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Etnolingvistika; Leksema; Konceptas; Kalbos pasaulėvaizdis; Etnosas; Aukštaitija; (Pa)tarmė; Ethnolinguistics; Lexeme; Concept; Linguistic worldview; Ethnos; Aukštaitija; (Sub)dialect.

ENThe paper focuses from an ethnolinguistic point of view on the concept of jūra [the sea and the specific characteristics of its linguistic expression in the ethnographic region of Aukštaitija. This region almost coincides with the area of the Eastern Aukštaitian subdialect variants. It is obvious that due to the geographical and political position of the region as well as its insignificant economic connections to the sea (the Aukštaitians historically did not earn their living from sea fishing or sea trade), the linguistic realisation of this concept is rather poor. In the Aukštaitian dialect (it is worth remembering that it covers a wider area than the ethnographic region of Aukštaitija), the concept of the sea is expressed by the lexemes jūra and mãrios as well as the collocation jūros mãrios, the morphemic structure of which varies in different subdialects and can also be expressed by the lexeme vanduõ [water] meaning a 'large body of water'. To conclude, Aukštaitians have more than one lexeme for expressing the concepts of the sea and the ocean. Usually they replace each other rather easily and are close to being absolute synonyms. The meaning of all these lexemes is much broader than the meaning of the sea, i.e. a 'large body of salty water'. According to Valencova's research, the word море [the sea] in the Slavic languages is also usually perceived as a 'large body of water' (Валенцова 2015b: 163-164). Regarding the use of the lexemes denoting the sea, it is obvious that the Aukštaitians tend to use the lexeme mãrios more often than other lexemes expressing the concept of the sea. The collocation jūros mãrios, meaning a large body of water, was traced in the Eastern Aukštaitian subdialect of Kupiškis. However, derivatives of the words mãrios and jūra in coloquial Eastern Aukštaitian are rare.The concept of the sea (a body of salty water) in the ethnographic region of Aukštaitija, esentially coinciding with the area of the Eastern Aukštaitian subdialects, is inseparable from the concept of the lagoon (a large body of fresh water). In other words, the differences between these bodies of salty and fresh water are not relevant to the Aukštaitians in priciple and have therefore been neutralised. This is confirmed by the linguistic expression of both concepts whereby the lexemes jūra, mãrios, jūros (-ės) mãrios, vanduo, etc. can all be used to denote either a body of salty water or a body of fresh water. The Eastern Aukštaitians can name a body of fresh water (e.g. a reservoir formed by a dam) using two lexemes (jūra ir mãrios), even though the official name of the body includes the lexeme mãrios (Ekrãno mãrios, Kùpiškio mãrios). Both of these lexemes can also mean a body of salty water, i.e. the sea, which proves that the Aukštaitians have used these lexemes synonymously for many centuries. A lower number of the lexeme jūra recorded in the area covering the Eastern and Southern variants of the Aukštaitian subdialects can be explained by the competition between the synonyms jūros and mãrios. The use of the lexeme jūra which has been increasing since the mid-20th century, is associated both with the greater mobility of the population (at present, many Aukštaitians holiday by the sea or are working/studying in the port town of Klaipėda, etc.) as well as the influence of Standard Lithuanian. We can assume that in the 21st century the semantic differences between the lexemes jūra and mãrios in the Aukštaitian subdialects will probably be the same as in Standard Lithuanian (jūra denoting a body of salty water, and mãrios - a body of fresh water).The lexemes jūra and mãrios denoting the concept of the sea as well as their derivatives are used in various discourses and styles, while the collocations (jūros mãrios, etc.) have been recorded only in folkore. The lexeme vanduõ also denotes the concept of the sea / the ocean in the Aukštaitian dialect, however, due to its polysemy, this meaning is not implied as often as in the case of other lexemes. The cognitive definition of the sea in the Aukštaitian subdialects could be as follows: the sea is the gateway to the world of the dead or a mystical alien world, a menacing and uncontrollable element, or a place for rest and work. The definition has some differences from Standard Lithuanian. Therefore, we can argue that the language users of the region of Aukštaitija have retained a traditional concept, older than that reflected in Standard Lithuanian. In most Eastern Aukštaitian subdialects, salty water as an attribute of the sea has not been recorded, although this attribute is included in the meaning definition of the lexeme jūra in various dictionaries (LKŽe, KŽ, etc.). In the Eastern Aukštaitian dialect, the metaphorisation of lexemes denoting the concept of the sea has not been developed, and usually metaphors are based on the opposition of the attributes very much / little. [From the publication]