Peasants’ perception of time: representation of “time” concept in explanatory dictionary by V. Dahl

Perception of time by peasants is essential for the study of the history of Russian linguistic culture. Semantics of the concept key word as well as conceptual metaphors represented in phraseological units employing the word “vremya” [time] are indicative of the cyclic model of time perception. The Russian agrarian culture determines specific characteristics of the given model: it is perceived as an event/action repository; its approach is anticipated, recognized and taken advantage of. The axiological opposition between “vremya vs bezvremenie” [good time vs evil time] and direct participation in people’s lives are viewed as its other characteristic features. Half of the derivatives from the word “vremya” [time] appeared in the language after 1700 and signify new meanings - “fickleness” and “waiting till something is over”. The new meanings are close to the interpretation of the “time” category in Byzantine philosophy, which might speak of the following changes in the Russian culture: the worldview became eschatological, the linear time model was introduced, and the “time” category became less axiological. We think that the following historical events are responsible for the change in the worldview paradigm: the Nikonian Сhurch reforms in 1656 and the final enslavement of peasants in 1649.