Abstract: The subject of this research is small folklore genres, namely wishful thinking and curses. The goal of this article consists in the comparative analysis of most used emotional and expressive lexis in the Bezhta and Chamalal languages. Currently, in the context of irreversible process of narrowing and unification of linguistic palette of humanity, its preservation requires the creation of full descriptions of the living” languages. This list also includes the non-written Bezhta language (from Tsez subgroup) and Chamalal language (from Andi subgroup) – two of the 18 minority languages existing in Dagestan. The research employs field material collected by the authors during expeditions of 2018-2020). Analysis is conducted on wishful thinking and curses in different ontological situations of the Bezhta and Chamalal communities. The relevance of studying small folklore genres of Bezhta and Chamalal people is substantiated by uniqueness of the type, is observed to a different degree in the folklore of different peoples. The key research methods contain analytical (analysis of theoretical literature and factual material on the matter), continuous sampling, descriptive and comparative methods. The methods of field work were applied in the course of expedition to Bezhta and Tsumadinsky Districts of the Republic of Dagestan in terms of collection of the materials on paremiology of Bezhta and Chamalal languages.

Abstract: The author examines the folklore poetry of Chamalals, which includes the centuries-old tales and parables, ceremonial and family-lyrical songs, ritual lamentations, proverbs, sayings, counting-out rhymes, riddles, emotionally expressive lexicon, etc. The subject of this research is the good wishes and curses comprising the small folklore genres. The relevance of the selected topic is substantiated by uniqueness of the genre, which varies among the folklores of different nations. In order to preserve the language palette of humanity, in the conditions of currently ongoing irreversible process aimed at its reduction and unification, it is necessary to create full descriptions of the “living” languages. This article is dedicated to examination of the emotionally expressive lexicon presented by good wishes and curses in various situations on ontology of the Chamalal society. Based on the existing and newly introduced into the scientific discourse emotionally expressive vocabulary, the author explores the structural-semantic types of good wishes and curses in the Chamalal language. The analyzed Chamalal good wishes and curses as the primary genres of folklore discourse become the object of linguistic description for the first time. In the course of research, the author determines the main structural-semantic types of the emotionally expressive lexicon, trend towards passage of the sayings with unkind wishes into curses, and enhanced expressiveness in the phrases containing an unkind wish.