Speech-genre characteristics of everyday omens

Abstract

The paper deals with everyday omens as a special speech genre within the framework of prognostic discourse. Calendar and meteorological omens to a great extent reflect recurring objective circumstances, while everyday omens record mostly random coincidences of events. From the positions of scientific and religious worldviews, everyday omens are qualified as superstitions. The function of everyday omens is to build a simple picture of the world with prescriptions and explanations of mystical nature. The discursive formula of a household omen includes the following components: 1) action, 2) consequence, 3) explanation, 4) prescription, 5) correction. The obligatory components of this genre are action and prescription, the other parts of the formula can be optional. The explanation of a household omen is often mystical in nature, as irrational explanations are well remembered. Omens are characterized by a high degree of ethno-cultural uniqueness. An omen appears as an iconic sign and later becomes an indexical sign. In new omens ancient magical attitudes of behaviour are repeated in a different manifestation. Modern interpretations of omens show that this speech genre to a great extent fulfils not so much explanatory as entertaining function.

Keywords

• speech genre
• predictive discourse
• household omen
• superstition
• iconic sign
• signal sign