ADJECTIVES IN THE SUPERSTITIONS OF THE ENGLISH, RUSSIAN, AND MARI LANGUAGES

Superstitions always played a very important role in the life of folks determining their behaviour, foreseeing future events, warning about something that can happen or prohibiting some actions which may bring damages and misfortunes. The article considers folk superstitions connected with the rites of passage in the English, Russian, and Mari languages. These rites include pregnancy and birth of a child, wedding, and funerals. All the rites of passage are studied from the point of view of three time periods. Authors analysed the superstitions, found adjectives, and grouped them according to their meaning. The analysis has revealed seven groups of adjectives: 1) adjectives naming colours, 2) adjectives describing appearance of people and things, 3) adjectives naming time, age, and distance, 4) adjectives naming condition, quality or features, 5) adjectives giving assessment, 6) adjectives naming material and origin, 7) adjectives talking about fate. The results of the studies had some conclusions. All adjectives naming colour are used in their traditional meaning. Adjectives naming human appearance talk about sides of the body, height, describe hair and skin. Adjectives naming time, age, and distance give the description of speed, frequency, duration, succession, age of people and things, and distance. Adjectives naming condition, quality or features describe alive or dead state, health, fullness, heaviness, purity, honesty, temper, and wealth. Adjectives giving assessment name something as good or bad, lucky or unlucky, happy or unhappy. Adjectives naming material and origin notice different materials connected with the names of trees, plants, metals or having animal origin. Adjectives talking about fate foresee something what will happen in the future. It should be noticed that a lot of adjectives have synonyms, antonyms, and even homonyms.