Linguistic and cultural semantics of the Russian word KISSEL (‘jelly’) in Arkhangelsk dialects
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The article is devoted to the semantic analysis of the Russian word kissel (‘jelly’) in Arkhangelsk dialects. This article enriches existing research on the food code of folk culture by introducing a large amount of new dialect material. The aim of the article is to describe the semantics of the all-Russian word kissel (‘jelly’) in Arkhangelsk dialects, analyze its compatibility, set expressions including the kissel lexeme; describe the ethnolinguistic content of the reality kissel, and analyze its cultural semantics. The study is based on the material of Arkhangelsk dialects. The research methods used were the continuous sampling method, field questionnaires, word compatibility analysis, and ethnolinguistic principles for describing dialectal vocabulary. It has been established that the nominations of kissel reflect the type of cereal it is made from (oatmeal, grain, pea, triple), the color of the kissel (white, red, gray). Lexemes with the semantics of seeing off guests indicate the ritual function of kissel (the end of the meal). The semantic development of the lexeme kissel shows its important role in the national worldview. Properties of jelly (gelatinous, semi-liquid state) are the basis for the figurative meanings emergence (for example, ‘a person in poor health’, ‘a stupid person’, ‘a nervous state of a person’, ‘a flabby, inelastic part of the body’, ‘a jellyfish’, ‘frog eggs’). In comparisons, jelly acts as a standard for everything thick and shapeless. The kissel lexeme is the central part of proverbs with the meaning of distant kinship. Sour jelly belongs to the archaic part of folk culture.
Author: A.B. Kokonova
Institution: Lomonosov Moscow State University
Language: English
Topic: Language and Culture
Subfield: Linguistics and Language
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4408970668