Концепт кара у мовній свідомості українців

On the basis of dialectal texts – the live speech of Ukrainians, the meaning of the concept of  punishment is outlined. The research was conducted using texts collected through fi eld expeditions in the Lviv region (representing the the Dnister and Boiko dialects) and from publications in other collections of dialectal texts (from Bukovyna, Naddnistryanshchyna, Polissia, and Slobozhanshchyna). In dialectal narratives, a connection was discovered between sin and supernatural punishment. The most common motive for punishment in dialectal texts is sacrilege, desecration of holy places, and sinful and unjust living. Divine punishment can be immediate (e.g., paralysis as a result of disrespecting an icon, breaking God’s commandments) or delayed in time (sickness and misfortune occurring months or years later). On the axiological scale, the concept of punishment has a positive evaluation in the consciousness of a dialectal speaker, because it appeals to the ideas of correctness, morality (punishment is a consequence of violating a prohibition, certain established norms, an action against God himself), justice. The analyzed concept of punishment verbalizes stereotypical and valuable aspects of the spiritual life of Ukrainians, reveals their cultural consciousness, which is closely related to Christianity. Dialectal texts about punishment contain linguistic information and refl ect the worldview of the dialectal speaker. It should be noted that replenishing the empirical base with texts about punishment from the entire dialect range of the Ukrainian language will enable a deeper and more thorough study of the universal concepts of ethnicity.