Dialect Dictionary as a Cultural Text: The Linguistic and Cultural Image of WHEAT
Abstract
The abundance of examples and definitions from dialects and folklore in dialect dictionaries makes these dictionaries a source to rely upon. For the very same reason, dialect dictionaries carry the important meaning of authentic texts. This article scrutinises the linguistic and cultural image of wheat, one of the four grain staples in Lithuania, as highlighted by the data from the big Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language and other sources of Lithuanian lexicography. The word wheat is known and used across all dialects of the Lithuanian language. The study focuses on the connection between wheat and the human existence and folk culture, the value that it provides to the human being, and the value wheat holds compared to other grains. The amount of data on wheat available in lexicographical sources makes it possible for the cultural image of this plant to be analysed using the methodology developed by the ethnolinguistic school of Lublin. Notably, dialect dictionaries offer material that is much more limited in scope compared to folklore narratives. However, if one were to rely on the latter, dictionary material can prove to be a sufficient source for ethnolinguistic information about the linguistic image of plants.
Copyright (c) 2024 Vilija Sakalauskienė

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.