Proverbs and sayings of the Transbaikal Old Believers

Every nation has proverbs and sayings. They reflect the peculiarities of the way of life, national morale and historical destiny. Proverbs and sayings make it possible to understand the way of thinking, and character of the nation. In modern society much attention is paid to the relevance and importance of preserving, collecting and studying the folklore of any nation. Proverbs and sayings of the Transbaikal Old Believers have been little studied; therefore, they are of great interest for linguistics. The article reveals the role and place of proverbs and sayings in the life of Old Believers, presents a thematic classification of these linguistic units. The division of proverbs and sayings is conditional, since they are characterized by semantic polysemy and used in the literal and figurative senses. The material presented in the article was collected by teachers and students of educational institutions of Bichursky District within the competition “Linguistic Heritage of Old Believers of Bichursky District”.