Reflection of the Religious Situation in the World View of Russian Native Speakers

The article documents the changing perceptions of the global religious landscape among Russian native speakers by analysing changes in the number of Russian nouns denoting the religious affiliation of the people they refer to. The research is based on the comparison of the Explanatory Dictionary of...

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Main Author: Liudmila Kravcova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Vilnius University 2012-04-01
Series:Respectus Philologicus
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.journals.vu.lt/respectus-philologicus/article/view/15480
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author Liudmila Kravcova
author_facet Liudmila Kravcova
author_sort Liudmila Kravcova
collection DOAJ
description The article documents the changing perceptions of the global religious landscape among Russian native speakers by analysing changes in the number of Russian nouns denoting the religious affiliation of the people they refer to. The research is based on the comparison of the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language of the Early 21st Century – Contemporary Vocabulary, edited by G. N. Sklyarevskaya, and Ozhegov’s Dictionary, one of the most popular dictionaries of the Soviet period. The article also suggests reasons for the absence of certain lexicons in the dictionary of the Soviet era. Words denoting practitioners of Islam are one of the main focal points of this study. The ascending role of Islam in global politics, and the increasing attention paid to schisms within this religion, have created a demand for precise definitions of the various concepts of Islam. To capture this linguistic development, we have analysed the relationships and semantic connections among the words мусульманин, правоверный, исламист, ваххабит, шахид, and other words whose meanings contain an Islamic component. We conclude that dictionaries tend to capture the everyday meanings of words, which are often a product of only a superficial grasp of the underly ing concept and commonly formed on the basis of mass media discourse, which, in turn, is subject to uncertainties of meaning. The limited set of contextual components attached to words denoting religious concepts speaks to the fact that the understanding of the current religious situation and its ongoing developments is rather vague among Russian native speakers.
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spelling doaj.art-eab1999c2c5c48bea504c9e2a53bd2112022-12-22T00:33:53ZengVilnius UniversityRespectus Philologicus1392-82952335-23882012-04-01212610.15388/Respectus.2012.26.15480Reflection of the Religious Situation in the World View of Russian Native SpeakersLiudmila Kravcova0Vilnius University, LithuaniaThe article documents the changing perceptions of the global religious landscape among Russian native speakers by analysing changes in the number of Russian nouns denoting the religious affiliation of the people they refer to. The research is based on the comparison of the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language of the Early 21st Century – Contemporary Vocabulary, edited by G. N. Sklyarevskaya, and Ozhegov’s Dictionary, one of the most popular dictionaries of the Soviet period. The article also suggests reasons for the absence of certain lexicons in the dictionary of the Soviet era. Words denoting practitioners of Islam are one of the main focal points of this study. The ascending role of Islam in global politics, and the increasing attention paid to schisms within this religion, have created a demand for precise definitions of the various concepts of Islam. To capture this linguistic development, we have analysed the relationships and semantic connections among the words мусульманин, правоверный, исламист, ваххабит, шахид, and other words whose meanings contain an Islamic component. We conclude that dictionaries tend to capture the everyday meanings of words, which are often a product of only a superficial grasp of the underly ing concept and commonly formed on the basis of mass media discourse, which, in turn, is subject to uncertainties of meaning. The limited set of contextual components attached to words denoting religious concepts speaks to the fact that the understanding of the current religious situation and its ongoing developments is rather vague among Russian native speakers.https://www.journals.vu.lt/respectus-philologicus/article/view/15480religious situationnouns denoting peopleworld viewdiscoursemuslimIslamite
spellingShingle Liudmila Kravcova
Reflection of the Religious Situation in the World View of Russian Native Speakers
Respectus Philologicus
religious situation
nouns denoting people
world view
discourse
muslim
Islamite
title Reflection of the Religious Situation in the World View of Russian Native Speakers
title_full Reflection of the Religious Situation in the World View of Russian Native Speakers
title_fullStr Reflection of the Religious Situation in the World View of Russian Native Speakers
title_full_unstemmed Reflection of the Religious Situation in the World View of Russian Native Speakers
title_short Reflection of the Religious Situation in the World View of Russian Native Speakers
title_sort reflection of the religious situation in the world view of russian native speakers
topic religious situation
nouns denoting people
world view
discourse
muslim
Islamite
url https://www.journals.vu.lt/respectus-philologicus/article/view/15480
work_keys_str_mv AT liudmilakravcova reflectionofthereligioussituationintheworldviewofrussiannativespeakers