Names of species of trees and shrubs and the derivatives in folk songs from Warmia and Masuria

http://doi.org/10.26485/RKJ/2017/64/11

Abstract

  This article is an analysis of names of species of trees and shrubs used in folk songs of Warmia and Masuria, which are dated from XIX and XX century. The names collected in ten Warmian and Masurian anthologies show varied material to study. In examined collection there are twenty–six names of trees and shrubs kinds used, i.e. birch-tree, beech, cedar, yew, cypress, oak, hawthorn, pear, apple-tree, juniper, rowan, sycamore, mistletoe, ash, fir, viburnum, maple, hazel, linden, alder, aspen, pine, spruce, poplar, willow, cherry-tree. The researched lexis, except for basic nouns, is created by formative derivatives, which are diminutive and collective names and deriving from substantives – adjectival lexemes describing species’ connection to part of plant and material, which specific object is made of. Almost every name, except for prevailing nationwide form, assumes bypass forms, representing dialectal phonetic phenomenon, which is the main purpose of this analysis. Moreover folk songs mention numerous dialectic terms for names of trees and shrubs species, which confirms variety in naming plants by inhabitants of Warmia and Masuria.