Concepts of HONOR and LAW in the names of an illegitimate child and his mother (based on Arkhangelsk dialects)

The article examines the linguistic embodiment of the concepts HONOR and LAW, important for folk culture, in the names of an illegitimate child and the woman who gave birth to him. In “Big Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language,” ed. S. A. Kuznetsov honor is defined as “a good, unblemished reputation, a good, honest name. Chastity, chastity, virginity (about women).” A woman who preserved her virginity before marriage is called че́стная ‘honest’; a woman who did not preserve it is called нече́стная, бесче́стная ‘dishonest’. The situation of having children out of wedlock is described by such a construction as роди́тьбесче́стно ‘giving birth dishonorably’. The lexeme law is interpreted as “a rule of social behavior that is generally accepted, mandatory, immutable; custom”. This law prohibits a woman from living with a man without marrying him, and also from leaving her husband. Living in an official marriage means житьпозако́ну ‘living according to the law’, взако́нномбра́ке ‘in a legal marriage’. Accordingly, spouses living in an official marriage are called зако́нными ‘legal’. A child born in an official marriage was born зако́нно ‘legally’. Official (legal) marriage and cohabitation are opposed to each other. If a woman gives birth to a child out of wedlock, she is called беззако́нница ‘wicked’. The situation of having children out of wedlock is described by expressions невзако́н ‘not in accordance with the law’, непозако́ну ‘not according to the law’. This situation can be defined as беззако́ние ‘lawlessness’. Children born out of wedlock are described using the lexemes беззако́нник, беззако́нной, незако́нной, незаконноро́жденной, незаконнорожо́ной ‘illegitimate’. The concept of HONOR is mainly realized in popular ideas about maiden purity and a woman’s behavior before marriage. The concept of LAW for the situation of children born out of wedlock is more significant, because describes it from the point of view of not only moral, but also legal law, generally accepted norms of behavior in a team. Both marriage and children born in it are within the scope of the law, therefore names with the root -закон- ‘law’ apply to both the woman and her child. Both concepts describe human behavior from the point of view of public morality.

Northern Russian dialects, concept, semantics, nomination, kinship terms, folk culture