Wyznaczniki temporalne w opisie ludowych stereotypów językowych (na przykładzie zjawisk meteorologii ludowej)

Abstract

The article aims at pointing out temporal indicators occurring in folk stereotypes. The early man dividing his time according to the position of the sun and then the moon distinguished a day, a year, and a month. Culmination periods were of particular significance. During the year, summer and winter solstices were such periods, whereas during the 24 hours it was noon and midnight. These culmination points, which are the meeting points of the physical and extraterrestrial world, are visible in the folk culture. Preserved in various forms and folk genres (such as proverbs, fairy tales, and legends) the texts show that those periods are the demon times, during which the human behaviour is controlled by specific prohibitions and orders. The primary division overlaps with the secondary, Christian division of time. Thus the ordinary and sacral time periods are distinguished.