FOLK ETHICS OF THE MIDDLE-UPPER-DNIPRO DIALECT SPEAKERS IN THE CONTEXT OF DIALECTAL NARRATIVE

Abstract

Traditional moral framework plays an integral role in everyday life of the Middle-upper-Dnipro speakers, reflecting their moral principles, values, and cultural traditions. They are deeply embedded in unwritten rules and customs, which are verbalized in dialectal texts. Language serves not only as a means of communication but also as a repository of collective knowledge, experience, and social norms, making dialectal narratives a valuable source for studying the spiritual and moral dimensions of culture. The purpose of the article is to analyze the means of representing moral and ethical values in the Middle-upper-Dnipro dialects. The research aims to uncover the linguistic mechanisms through which these concepts are expressed and to explore their role in shaping interpersonal relationships within the studied linguistic and cultural area. The study identifies key ethnoethical dominants − respect, honesty, mutual assistance, and following the traditions − as central to regulating social interactions among Middle-upper-Dnipro speakers. These values are primarily verbalized through complex linguistic structures. Microtext illustrations further reveal the contextual use of these linguistic forms in everyday speech, highlighting their adaptation to modern socio-cultural conditions. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of ethnoethical dominants in dialectal speech, providing new insights into ways of verbalizing and preserving moral and ethical values. Dialectal speech serves as a significant repository of collective experience, preserving traditional moral-ethical concepts while reflecting their adaptation to contemporary realities. The findings underline the importance of dialectal texts in maintaining cultural heritage and offer valuable material for further comparative research into the linguistic representation of moral and ethical values across other Ukrainian dialects.