ВІРУВАННЯ ПРО ЗИМОВІ ОПАДИ В ЕТНОЛІНГВІСТИЧНОМУ АСПЕКТІ: СЕРЕДНЬОПОЛІСЬКО-ПОЛЬСЬКІ ПАРАЛЕЛІ

The article is devoted to the study of central Polissia’s beliefs about winter precipitation in the ethnolinguistic aspect in the context of Polish beliefs about winter precipitation. The source basis was author’s own field notes made in 43 central Polissia’s dialects of Zhytomyr region. The existing ethnographic and dialect materials on beliefs about winter precipitation in the Ukrainian cultural tradition are summarized; a systematic description of traditional beliefs about winter precipitation in the middle Polissia’s dialects is carried out through the prism of an integral cultural text; the system of oppositions is identified; parallels of the middle Polissia’s beliefs about winter precipitation with the corresponding Polish beliefs are drawn (based on the dictionary of E. Bartminsky "Dictionary of Folk Stereotypes and Symbols"); the structure of the studied cultural phenomenon as part of a system of diverse units is established. Thus, the verbal components of central Polissia’s beliefs about winter precipitation are categories related to ideas about snow, frost, white frost, icicles, thaws and other winter phenomena, represented by words, phrases, sentences and microtexts. The units of the agent plan of the content of beliefs are people who observe winter precipitation; people who performed various actions during winter precipitation; a personalized image of Frost, which draws patterns on the windows and who was invited to eat kutya; a personalized image of Winter, and so on. The units of the action plan are the procedural behavior of the first snow, frost, icicles, snowstorms; human actions related to clearing snow; ritual actions of calling Frost to eat kutya; fumigating trees and fields with smoke. The units of real content plan are bonfires and smoke as ritual objects for protectiing the field from Frost; straw as an object for protectingf trees from Frost; kutya – ritual porridge, that Frost was invited to eat; weasel – frozen patterns on windows indicating severe frost; icicles, snow caps, snowdrifts, mountains of snow – symbols of winter formed by winter precipitation; skis, sledges, car, tractor – vehicles that used in winter; broomsticks – tools used to clear roads and paths from snow. Attribute plan units include characteristics of snow, winter, frost, and icicles. Local plan units embrace snow-covered paths and roads; huts and fences that were covered with snow; windows covered with a frost pattern; trees covered with snow caps; wells and rivers where water froze. Units of the temporal plan contain the day of the first snowfall; holidays in which the behavior and amount of snow were observed; snow freezing on trees, icicles.