Analysis of Definition Indices in Certain Terms Describing the Family and Marriage

Abstract

The article aims at presenting the denotations of chosen values as understood and used by contemporary man, particularly young one, i. e. the terms in which he expresses them. The author deals with definition indices of such notions as modernity, friendship, characteristics of a friend and partner, masculinity, femininity, success, love, home, family, etc. The discussion is founded upon 750 sociological interviews with young people of peasant, working-class and intelligentsia origin as well as upon diaries of young peasants entered in the following literary contexts:

— the diary of the young country generation of People’s Poland;
— „My Love, Youth and Marriage”;
— „My Success — My Failure”;
— „The Newly-weds”;
— „My Boy-friend — My Girl-friend”.

The importance of the subject results from the growing impact of language on the social life. The increasing tendency to exchange words brings about ambiguity rather than uniformity .One feels the necessity of studies which would not only determine the patterns ruling the uses of language, but also the meaning and denotation of particular expressions, delimitation of thus established usage and its mi- lieu modification. The present research reveals also the vertical differenciation, i. e. adolescents versus adults as adolescent subculture has been replacing traditional separate subcultures of males and females. These elements, among others, constitute practical and scientific value of the paper.