IA. Emotional-Reflective Class
Here and further, the titles of sections of Nomis's collection are given on the left, and the titles of Dahl's sections are given on the right. The numbers next to the titles indicate the number of topics (folklore units) in each section. The group of sections corresponds to a separate character trait, and the percentage gives the weight of all folklore units (themes) of this group to the total number of topics, which, recall, for the Nomis collection, is 21036, and for the Dahl collection – 29008.
a) Courage – Daring
The feeling of fear can be caused by both rational phenomena and irrational images, and ideas, but these subtleties are not reflected in the folklore material, and for the study of the national character, the distinction between types of timidity is not of particular importance.
| Fear – 105 | Courage, bravery, cowardice –215 |
| Not fearfully – 96 | Cowardice-Flight – 29 |
| Tenacious (brave) – 33 | |
| ------------ | ------------ |
| 260 (1,24%) | 244 (0,84%) |
For Ukrainians, courage as a character trait is more inherent, at least, in the mass consciousness of Ukrainians, it has a clearly greater weight than in the consciousness of Russians (1.24> 0.84)
Examples from Ukrainian and Russian folklore
Ukrainian Russian
| • A brave man hits his father in the forehead | • Cheek brings success |
| • Where there is courage, there is happiness | • Who dared, he ate |
| • Don't scare a cat by lard | • Better to die in a field than in a woman's hem |
| • Brave as beyond fence | • The dog barks at the brave, and vomits at the cowardly |
| • Wolves are howling in the forest, and it's scary at the stove | • Go ahead, don't look what's ahead |
b) Love-Dislike
| Love – 75 | Love-Dislike –345 |
| I do not like (love) – 103 | |
| ------------ | ------------ |
| 178 (0,84%) | 346 (1,19%) |
The theme of love in the minds of Russians occupies more space than Ukrainians (1.19>0.84), but sometimes its understanding is very peculiar.
Examples from Ukrainian and Russian folklore
Ukrainian Russian
| • Who loves whom, he destroys | • Darling will hit and add body |
| • For a sweet friend and a plow horse | • Love is blind |
| • Pleasure for an hour, and trouble until death | • Girls are not people, goats are not cattle |
| • The hair turns gray and the head goes crazy. | • Whom I love, I beat. |
с) Pride
| Proud– 109 (0,52%) | Pride – 110 (0,38%) |
Pride in this case can characterize a sense of self-respect, in which Ukrainians are somewhat superior to Russians(0,52> 0,38).
Examples from Ukrainian and Russian folklore
Ukrainian Russian
| • Do not look up, because you will dust your eye | • Better death than disgrace |
| • He took his hips, and he thinks that lord | • Fly high and land low |
| • A full ear bends, and an empty one sticks up | • Do not sue for the truth, take off your hat and pray |
| • From time immemorial, a Cossack has never been and will never be a headsman | • Took hold of the tug, don't say it's not good |
d) Desire, envy, greed
| I want – 91 | Envy – Greed – 194 |
| Enviably – 66 | Temperance – Greed -69 |
| ------------ | ------------ |
| 157 (0,75%) | 263 (0,91%) |
These data give grounds to say that Ukrainian greed and envy are condemned less by Russians (0.91 > 0.75). Accordingly, we can assume that these traits are more common among Ukrainians, it is not for nothing that it is believed that the "toad chokes" – the national disease of Ukrainians.
However, the widespread opinion about the special envy of Ukrainians was not confirmed in folklore.
Examples from Ukrainian and Russian folklore
Ukrainian Russian
| • A loaf of bread is not for Hryts | • In someone else's hands, a fingernail is an elbow |
| • Get along with cake and without saffron | • Where there is happiness, there is envy |
| • There is milk in the jug, but the head does not rise | • Envious eyes know no shame |
| • My mother would be happy for the man, the man doesn't take it that way | • You will dig hard – you will not bring it home |
| • A living person does not need much | • It is better to live in envy than in pity |
e) Color
| Color – 50 (024%) | Color-suit – 30 (0,10%) |
In general, the theme of colors does not have much significance in the mass consciousness of both peoples, but it reflects a penchant for art. In this respect, the Ukrainians are vastly superior to the Russians.
In total, in the IA class, the relative number of emotional images in the national character traits of Ukrainians (3.59%) and Russians (3.42%) is almost the same. The data of classes IB and IC will tell about emotional evaluation and reaction.
