Linguo-Cultural Conceptualisation of Mother in Lithuanian and Polish Proverbs
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21420112 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kristina Rutkovska (0000-0002-5789-9972, Vilnius University), Irena Snukiškienė (0000-0003-0228-9955, Vilnius University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 71 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 323-342 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scando-Slavica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0080-6765 • E-ISSN: 1600-082X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00806765.2025.2604137 |
| OpenAlex | W7134034891 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
The article investigates how the figure of mother is culturally constructed in Lithuanian and Polish proverbial traditions, applying the ethnolinguistic approach of aspectual analysis developed by the Ethnolinguistic School of Lublin. The study examines the semantic and axiological content of the concept mother as reflected in proverbs. As traditional expressions of collective wisdom, proverbs convey social norms, values, and cultural stereotypes, which makes them a great source for ethnolinguistic analysis. This comparative qualitative study analyses approximately 600 proverbs, which contain the lexeme mother or its equivalents, sourced from the most comprehensive Lithuanian and Polish paremiological collections (the compendium of Lithuanian proverbs “Lietuvių patarlės ir priežodžiai” (2021) ed. by V. Džekčioriūtė, R. Kašėtienė, L. Kudirkienė, D. Zaikauskienė, and the compendium of Polish proverbs “Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych polskich” (1978) ed. by J. Krzyżanowski). The findings reveal a strong similarity in the conceptualisation of the mother in the proverbs of both cultures, likely influenced by their shared historical and cultural background. The analysis of Lithuanian and Polish proverbs reveals five dominant maternal profiles: (1) the figure of the mother as a cultural symbol (or motherhood as an ideal and a cultural principle); (2) the mother as the centre of the family; (3) the loving mother, encompassing the subprofiles of protecting, warmth-providing, nourishing, and teaching mother; (4) the punishing mother; and (5) the suffering mother. All in all, Lithuanian and Polish proverbs reflect a common transcultural view of motherhood, with subtle differences in metaphor, emphasis, and the use of allegoric imagery
Estonian · Germanic languages · Lithuanian · Polish · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Linguistics and language evolution · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
| Highly cited | No |
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