Słownictwo dotyczące świata fauny i flory w "Symbolice wiosennej" Stefanii Ulanowskiej

The object of interest in this sketch is an analysis of the vocabulary indicating selected elements of the world of fauna and fl ora in Symbolika wiosenna (Spring symbolism) by Stefania Ulanowska (Kraków 1884). The collected language material is characterised by wealth and complexity of the subject matter. The indicated vocabulary has not been characterised yet. This paper employs elements of the cognitivist description of language. The selection of this method enables depiction of the relation between linguistic knowledge and encyclopaedic knowledge. Language becomes an indispensible element of mental processes of the perception of the world (Tokarski 1995; Miodunka 1980). The analysis of the excerpted material clearly shows that the discussed spring symbolism usually invokes, contrary to the prototype, the semantic fi eld related to ‘śmierć’ (death) rather than ‘życie’ (life). The reconstructed image of the folk idea of spring largely deviates from the ideas established in the consciousness of language users in general, which is confi rmed by the discussed examples. It presents unit connotations that are individualised and present in the consciousness of members of small rural communities of those times.