Sanctity and saints in the mirror of the dialect discourse of the interfluve area between Volga and Dvina

The article refers to the notions of spiritual and religious categories which function in the dialects existing in the interfluve area between the Volga and the Dvina rivers (Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Kostroma regions). The author examines the ways the informants describe in their speech the categories of sanctity, the saints and different stories related to them. The main method is the analysis of context compatibility, partner words and in some cases - figurative meanings. The understanding of the abstract category of sanctity by popular mind, linguistic transformations of saints’ names indicating their depersonalization, as well as reductions and modification of legends related to saints are the points of interest. The main way of perceiving saints and sanctity in the popular culture is revealed, when the abstract idea is abandoned and concretized. As a result, some “parameters” of sanctity (which are often represented by the revision of canonization conditions) and stories about saints are formed. The connection between saints, sanctity and rituals in the popular mind also attracts attention. The present study is topical thanks to its modern speech material, which reveals a world picture, typical for modern dialect speakers, and not an archaic one, which is fixed in the language. The relevance of the present study is also due to the introduction of new material: filed notes data of Ural Federal University Toponimic Expedition.