Between poverty and wealth in Podhale – A vocabulary concerning human living conditions in the dialectal texts

Abstract

This article attempts to answer the question of which lexical units belong to the semantic field of poverty and wealth in the Podhale dialect. The material basis of the study are the dialectal texts, mainly the memoirs of Podhale Gorals, but also some pieces of recollective literature, and the folk tales. The analysis of the amassed material indicated the lexemes and phrasemes, both belonging to the general Polish language, and characteristic of the Podhale dialect. From the analysis of the contexts conclusions can be drawn as to valuing people in a rural community based on the amount of their property. In language it is manifested by the words with semantic components related not only to the material status, but also the social role.