Scientific Newsletter. Fomina Z. Ye., Lindorfer B

Scientific Newsletter of Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering

All the tears that St. Swithin can cry,

St. Barthelemey’s (August 24) dusty mantle wipes dry [4*].

In determining the types of metaphors, we relied on the classification of G.V. Tokarev. He identifies the following types of metaphors by nature of the auxiliary denotatum:

1)an anthropomorphic (anthropocentric) metaphor;

2)a biomorphic metaphor;

3)a fetish metaphor;

4)a spatial metaphor;

5)an actional metaphor [16, p. 56].

The English paremic unit mentioned above contains three metaphors: a metaphor of actional type (St. Barthelemey’s dusty mantle wipes dry all the tears that St. Swithin can cry), a metaphor of anthropomorphic type (all the tears that St. Swithin can cry), and a metaphor of fetish type (St. Barthelemey’s dusty mantle), which is a metaphorical image of dry weather (dusty mantle → dry weather). Thus, in this example, we can observe how the folk forecast is realized through metaphorical images: after the period of rains dry weather comes. In this example, a three-component metaphorical renomination of the concept “dry weather” is determined that makes explicit ethno-cultural specificity of the worldview of the Christian world [17].

1.4. A part of the condition of an omen given below is missing → implementation of its prognostic part is carried out through a metaphorical image associated with rain (a natural phenomenon).

Englishmen, referring to rainy weather, which usually prevails at the beginning of August, say:

St. Mary Magdalene (August 1) is washing her handkerchief to go to her cousin St.

James’s fair [4*].

In the above omen a metaphorization of the image of a saint occurs (St. Mary Magdalene is washing her handkerchief). In the present paremic unit there is metaphor of actional type. The predominance of actional metaphors in English omens (four actional metaphors out of seven established) is due to the nature of a metaphor itself. N.D. Arutyunova notes that the metaphor in its primary function is associated with the predicate position and gives the essential characteristic of an object [18, p. 31].

Specificity of actional verbs (or verbs of a particular physical action) lies in the fact that they “express the event in which a particular subject-agens performs a specific intentional action directed at a specific object-patiens and making some modifications of this object” [19, p. 7]. Mechanisms of metaphoric and metonymic transfer are associated with recategorization and polycategorization of the verb respectively: “Rethinking the meaning of an actional verb is carried out due to its syntactic connections with atypical subjects and objects ...” [20, p. 16].

The analyzed paremic unit also contains a reference to a rather curious fact: in the folk interpretation St. James is considered to be Mary Magdalene’s cousin. Does this fact have historical scientific base? And whose cousin was St. James actually?

St. James was called “a brother of the Lord”, and it is interpreted in different ways. He is usually not recognized the brother of Jesus from dogmatic considerations. The most common version in Christianity is that he was a cousin of Jesus (thus he is identified with James, the son of Alphaeus). Another version is that he was the son of Joseph, who was born before his betrothal to the Virgin Mary, that is, to Jesus Christ (together with the apostle Judas Thaddeus) he is a step-brother [21]. Thus, the version set out in the English omen that Mary Magdalene and St James are close relatives finds no historical confirmation.

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2.1. The condition of an omen is represented by a natural phenomenon (flood) → the predicted situation of an omen is represented by an event (a good harvest (without specification)).

St. Margaret’s (1st August) flood is proverbial, and it is considered to be well for the harvest in England [4*].

2.2. A natural phenomenon (rain) is featured in the condition of an omen → the predicted event of an omen appears to be a good harvest (of grapes), a poor harvest (of nuts).

It should be noted that the same natural phenomenon (rain) may have a positive effect on the harvest of certain crops (rain on St. Barnabas’s Day good for grapes), and a negative effect (rain on St. John’s Day, damage to nuts):

Rain on St. Barnabas’s Day (June 11) good for grapes [4*].

Rain on St. John’s Day, damage to nuts [4*].

3. A natural phenomenon clear weather (a clear day; a sunny day; a bright and clear day; a clear, dry and cold day) constitutes the condition of an omen → the predicted event is productivity (a good year (favorable for the crop); a good harvest of rye and wine)).

So, a natural phenomenon clear weather in the condition of an omen may be realized in the following four ways:

3.1. A clear day.

Is’t on St. Joseph’s Day (March 19) clear, So follows a fertile year [4*].

3.2. A sunny day.

If St. Vincent’s has sunshine,

One hopes much rye and wine [5*].

3.3. A bright and clear day.

If St. Paul’s is bright and clear, One does hope a good year [5*].

Is’t on St. Mary’s (March 25) bright and clear,

Fertile is said to be the year [4*].

3.4. A clear, dry and cold day.

During St. Martin’s Day (November 11th) the English peasants judged about the duration of the winter cold:

If it is at Martinmas fair, dry, and cold, the cold in winter will not last long [3*].

Thus, the connection of a phenoindicator clear weather, which may be realized in four variants, with the following forecasts is revealed: short duration of the winter cold, a good year, productivity, in particular, a good harvest of rye and grapes (for production of wine).

4. A natural phenomenon is featured in the condition of an omen (light conditions of a day) → a natural phenomenon appears in the forecast (light conditions of a day).

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Scientific Newsletter of Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering

One of the weather predictions on St. Michael’s Day (September 29th) is connected with the amount of sunlight (overcast sky – clear sky) and expresses the inverse dependence between cloudy weather on St. Michael’s Day and clear weather on Christmas.

A dark Michaelmas, a light Christmas [6*].

5.1 The condition of an omen is missing → the predicted situation represents a climate change (a little summer at the height of autumn).

Saint Luke the Evangelist in the Orthodox and Catholic traditions is considered the first icon painter and a patron saint of doctors and artists. According to a legend, Luke, painted the first icon of the Virgin Mary and Child, and became the first icon painter. The symbol of Saint Luke the Evangelist borrowed from the prophecy of Ezekiel, is a winged bull, holding the Gospel, as the Apostle paid special attention to the death on the cross of Jesus Christ, and the bull is often used as a sacrificial animal [22]. With the name of Saint Luke the Evangelist a short autumn period (October 18th) is related in the EFC, when the weather seems to bring us back in summer (a little Summer), so the name of Luke the Evangelist is directly associated with the ephemeral state of the autumn nature:

St. Luke’s day is often at the centre of a spell of particularly fine weather as St. Luke’s little Summer [7*].

In this example, we are witnessing a metonymic process when the name of the saint is used in the context with the meaning of the Day of memory, acquiring an attribute of possession (St. Luke’s little Summer) [23, p. 136].

5.2. The condition of an omen is missing → the predicted situation represents a climate change (the proximity of spring is expressed through a metaphorical image):

To St. Valentine the spring is a neighbor [3*].

This meteorological omen is marked with an anthropomorphic type of metaphor (spring is a neighbor to St Valentine).

6. The condition of an omen is expressed by a natural phenomenon (wind direction) → the predicted phenomenon is a certain type of weather (the nature of the coming winter).

On St. Martin’s Day (November 11th), the wind direction influences the further weather until February 2nd (Candlemas), defining the nature of winter (the southwest wind indicates a soft and snowless winter, the northwest wind, vice versa, indicates a severe winter):

If the wind is in the south-west on St. Martin’s Day, it will stay there right through to

Candlemas in February, thus ensuring a mild and snow-free winter [8*].

Wind north-west at Martinmas, severe winter to come [8*].

7. The condition of an omen is represented by a floral type of phenoindicator (vegetal symbols: daisies, acorns, leaves and grapes vines) → a predicted situation is a specific type of weather (good weather will continue until a certain period; on Christmas fields will be covered with snow; a cold winter).

7.1. The first omen on the Day of St. Michael (September 29th) is associated with flowering of daisies:

The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds,

Bloom for St. Michael’s valorous deeds.

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And seems the last of flowers that stood,

Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude [6*]. (Until October 28th, i.e. warm weather will be kept for another month).

7.2. The second omen is associated with the number of acorns on the Day of St. Michael, in the text of the omen given below there is a metaphor of actional type (St. Michael brings many acorns):

If St. Michael brings many acorns, Christmas will cover the fields with snow [6*].

The predictions made on the Day of St. Michael in the EFC, are directly related with weather events on Christmas (many acorns on the Day of St. Michael → snow on Christmas, cloudy weather on the Day of St. Michael → clear weather on Christmas).

7.3. People also watched how the leaves of the trees and grapes vines fall on St. Martin’s Day (November 11th):

If leaves of the trees and grapes vines do

Not fall before Martin’s Day, a cold winter may be expected [8*].

8.1. The condition of an omen involves an ornithonimic type of phenoindicator (domestic birds: ducks and geese) → the predicted phenomenon – the nature of winter (warm or cold).

A folk English tradition says that on St. Martin’s Day (November 11th) there may be observed an inverse dependence between the type of weather and the nature of winter (frost on St. Martin’s Day promises a warm winter, and, vise versa, warm weather on this day determines a cold winter):

If ducks do slide at Martinmas

At Christmas they will swim;

If ducks do swim at Martinmas

At Christmas they will slide [8*].

Once again such a phenomenon as a formal duplication of an omen reminds of itself [9, p.10]: content and general semantics is completely preserved, only the center of an omen is variable, the so called key lexeme, namely, ducks / geese:

If the geese at Martin’s Day stand on ice, they will walk in mud at Christmas [8*].

There is also a variation of forms of presentation [12, p.12], this omen also exists in the poetic form:

Ice before Martinmas,

Enough to bear a duck.

The rest of winter,

Is sure to be but muck [8*].

8.2. The condition of an omen involves an ornithonimic type of phenoindicator (wild birds: swallows) → the predicted situation is a change of seasons (autumn is in full swing).

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Scientific Newsletter of Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Seasonal migration of birds (swallows), in particular their “mysterious” disappearance on the Day of Saint Francis (October 4th) served as a special phenoindicator, an implicit reference to the inevitability of the beginning of autumn, confirmation of a change of seasons:

On St Francis Day swallows are supposed to fly to the bottom of ponds and hibernate through the winter. In the days before the idea of migration was understood, this seemed a reasonable explanation for their sudden disappearance. The fact that swallows skim the surface of ponds for insects may have been the starting point for this particular folklore [7*].

A connection of the legend of swallows with the Day of Memory of Saint Francis, in our opinion, is not accidental. It is very important to understand the personality of the saint, his world outlook, his special love for our “younger brothers”: “His brotherly love for all creation constitutes the basis of his poetry. He feeds bees on honey and wine in winter, raises worms from the road, so that they are not crushed by, buys a lamb being led to slaughter, frees a little hare, fell into a trap, refers with speeches to birds in the field ... The whole world, with all the living beings and the elements in it, turned to St. Francis in a loving family, coming from the same Father and united in love to him” [24].

9. The prediction of an omen is carried out through a metaphorical image (an astronomical phenoindicator of the days and nights equality is the essence of an actional type metaphor):

St. Matthew’s Day (September 21st) makes the days and nights equal [3*].

The fact that the Apostle Matthew is identified with his Day of Remembrance, “leads to the metaphorical anthropologization of the day as a temporal category” [11, p. 133].

In this omen we accept the presence of an actional type metaphor (St. Matthew makes the days and nights equal).

10. The condition of an omen contains a combined type of phenoindicator, it is composed of the element of a landscape (a stone) and an ornithonimic symbol (domestic birds)

→ the predicted situation: a climate change (spring comes):

St. Patrick’s (March 17) the warm side of a stone turns up, and the goose begins to lay [4*].

The following table systematizes material associated with phenoindicators and prognostic capabilities of the English meteorological omens with names of saints. Thus, the forecast in English omens can be expressed in two ways (which is reflected in the table): through the correlation of phenoindicators and phenomena from the first conditional part of an omen with phenoindicators, phenomena and events from its second prognostic part (conventionally: if X, then Y), or through a metaphorical image of an omen associated with rains, dry weather, the beginning of spring and the astronomical equality of the days and nights.

Scientific Newsletter of Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Thus, taking into account the cognitive-and-pragmatic nature of meteorological omens with names saints of the English Folk Calendar and the dual unity of their real (condition) and prognostic (forecast) parts, we have determined two ways of implementing the prognosis of an omen:

1. Through a correlation of phenoindicators and events in the first conditional part of an omen with phenoindicators, phenomena and events in its second prognostic part (if X, then Y).

We have identified the following types of phenoindicators and phenomena of the conditional part:

•a natural phenomenon (rain, flood, clear weather, light conditions of a day, direction of the wind);

•a floral type of phenoindicator (floral symbols: daisies, foliage and vine grapes);

•an ornithonimic type of phenoindicator (domestic birds (geese and ducks));

•a combined type of phenoindicator (the element of a landscape (a stone) + an ornithonimic symbol), as well as the following

phenoindicators, phenomena and events of the predicted part:

•an astronomical type (the equality of the days and nights);

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Scientific Newsletter of Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering

•a natural phenomenon (rain, light conditions of a day, climate change, the definite type of weather conditions, for example, the nature of the coming winter, a seasonal change);

•productivity (a general prognosis of productivity (a good year), or productivity of certain types of crops (grapes, rye)).

2. The prognosis of an omen can be realized indirectly through a metaphorical image. Metaphors of actional type (four out of seven) dominate in the texts of the English me-

teorological omens with names of saints of the EFC. The second place (in an order of decreasing frequency) is occupied by two anthropomorphic metaphors; one metaphor of fetish type was determined as well.

Dominant in the analyzed English meteorological omens is concrete objective lexis, first of all, natural lexis, since folk thinking is distinguished by the vivid imagery, concreteness, sensuality. This vocabulary is subjected to a symbolic reinterpretation, on the basis of which a conditional cultural meaning can be attached to a lexical unit.

Examples of the formal duplication of an omen are given in this article, when content and general semantics is completely preserved, only the center of an omen is variable, the key lexeme, namely, ducks / geese. Variability of the forms of presentation occurs in English omens (prosaic and poetic).

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Analyzed sources

1*. Weather folk-lore and local weather signs ... by Edward B. Garriott [Jelektronnyj re-surs] – URL: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x030228865;view=1up;seq=50 (vremja obrashhenija 4 .02.16).

2*. Facts about July – Customs and Traditions [Jelektronnyj resurs] – URL: http://www.projectbritain.com/year/july.htm (vremja obrashhenija 1.02.16).

3*. Weather folk-lore and local weather signs ... by Edward B. Garriott [Jelektronnyj re-surs] – URL: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x030228865;view=1up;seq=48 (vremja obrashhenija 4.02.16).

4*. Weather folk-lore and local weather signs ... by Edward B. Garriott [Jelektronnyj re-surs] – URL: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x030228865;view=1up;seq=49 (vremja obrashhenija 4.02.16).

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