superstition

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 research deals with the taboo as a traditional speech genre, which is a prominent part of the contem­porary system of speech genres. The taboo as a speech and partly folklore genre is based on the system of beliefs passed down from generation to generation, and ensures compliance with certain rules of behav­ior, first of all – preventing actions which, according to the traditional world view, can harm the violator.