MIĘDZY MODLITWĄ A PRZEKLEŃSTWEM: O JEZU! I PODOBNE WYRAŻENIA NA TLE PORÓWNAWCZY
BETWEEN PRAYING AND SWEARING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF JESUS! AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS

Summary/Abstract: Interjections such as the Polish Mój Boże (“Oh, my God!”), O Jezu (“Jesus!”) or Matko Boska! (lit. “Oh, Virgin Mary!”) are usually neglected in descriptions of language either as being “marginal” or “semantically empty” (or both at the same time). Contrary to such an attitude, in the paper the expressions are treated with due attention with rich analysable semantics being attributed to thein. A detailed comparison of the Polish Mój Boże! and the German Mein Gott illustrates the differences in the range of emotions present in each of the two expressions. It also indicates the need to conduct detailed comparative research on apparently equivalent interjections in various languages. Additionally, the so far empirically unattested differences chosen for presentation in the paper lead to the formulation of a whole range of interesting and important questions relating to the correlation between conventionalised interjections on the one hand and culture, history and religion on the other.

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