Lexico-Stylistic Means of Creating Images of Galicia and Galicians in «Colloquium of Twenty-Four Rustic Galicians» by Martin Sarmiento

Snetkova Marina Sergeevna PhD in Philology Associate Professor; Department of Ibero-Romance Linguistics; Lomonosov Moscow State University; Associate Professor; Department of Romano-Germanic Languages; Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry for Economic Development of Russian Federation 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1, p.51, room 1058 marina_snet@inbox.ru

Introduction

The Benedictine monk Martin Sarmiento (frei Martín Sarmiento, 1695-1772) is a unique Galician figure of the Enlightenment. The owner of a rich library (at the time of his death, it numbered 7,500 volumes, including rare and unique books ^{[16, p. 145]}), a polymath recognized by his contemporaries, with whom not only the king, but also scientists of various specialties consulted and corresponded constantly, he led an extremely closed and secluded lifestyle in He received visits from his Madrid cell, generously shared his truly encyclopedic knowledge, but repeatedly refused offered posts and memberships in academies and did not publish his numerous studies and reflections on principle. Therefore, his influence on his contemporaries and subsequent generations was rather spot-on, the legacy was preserved mainly in manuscripts, not completely, and letters make up a significant part of it. In 2002, which was declared the year of Martin Sarmiento ^[15], scientists estimated that he wrote about 150 studies of various volumes, ranging from 16 to 24 thousand pages, and in the jubilee year, about 65% of these texts were unpublished ^{[13, p. 63]}. Fascinated by a number of disciplines — among them, in addition to theology, geography, history, art, linguistics, biology, literary studies, education, medicine, etc. ^{[14, p. 218]} — he also became the author of "the first modern text written entirely in Galician" — "Conversation of 24 Galician Peasants" ("Coloquio de vinte e catro galegos rusticos", 1746 ^[24]) ^{[12, p. 212]}. We must not forget that M. Sarmiento lived and worked in the era of the so-called "Dark Ages" of Galician literature (Séculos escuros, ser. XV‒ beginning . In the 19th century ^{[29, p. 81]}), when the local language was almost completely replaced from written speech by Spanish.

M. Sarmiento's texts on philological issues proper were first published in Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Carta al P.M. Esteban de Terreros sobre el Origen de la Lengua Gallega, 1878; Onomástico Etimológico de la Lengua Gallega, 1923; Elementos Etimológicos según el Método de Euclides, 1928-1923). In the 1960s, Professor H. L. Pensado of the University of Salamanca played a key role in the study of this part of M. Sarmiento's heritage ^{[19, pp. XIII‒XV]}. In the last third of the twentieth century, scientific articles and larger studies began to be published relatively regularly. Undoubtedly, the jubilee year 2002 was also very important, during which the Galician Academy of Language and a number of other institutes held events dedicated to M. Sarmiento and carried out a number of publications.

The difficulty of studying the "Conversation..." is due to the fact that the original manuscript was discovered only in 2002 ^[25]. Earlier studies, including the most detailed books by H. L. Pensado in 1970 ^[22] and R. Marinho Paz in 1995 ^[23], were carried out based on a number of copies. E. Monteagudo, who discovered the original, used 7 handwritten versions and 5 printed editions in his research ^[17]. The varying degrees of preservation and completeness of these copies, the fact that they could not have been made from the original manuscript, as well as the fact that the scribes, as a rule, did not speak Galician, led to significant polymorphism of the texts (this can be seen even by the example of the title of the text in different editions ^[22-25]). Now that the original is publicly available on the resource of the Galician Language Institute ^[24] (which we will cite in this article), some of the conclusions from previously published studies can be adjusted.

In the Russian scientific tradition, the name of M. Sarmiento is little known. In particular, it is mentioned in the context of the study of the history of Spanish and Galician literature ^{[2; 5, p. 23]} or the formation of the norm of the Galician language ^{[3, p. 20-22; 1, p. 63-64; 6, p. 280-281]}. The analysis of the lexical and stylistic component of the "Conversation ..." not only introduces the Russian reader to a previously unquoted text and gives an idea of the state of the Galician language of the 18th century, but also allows us to trace the evolution of the traditional idea of Galicia and Galicians, which is important for understanding the concept of "Spanish national character" ^{[4, p. 6]}.

The idea, structure and plot of the "Conversation..."

The text of "Conversation..." is quite unusual: it combines the features of a work of fiction and lexicographical research (it was the latter component that was the main one for the author ^{[19, p. XIII]}), and consists of 1,200 quatrains written in hexasyllables with rhyming of even lines.

As indicated in the title, this is a conversation between several Galician peasants. Returning home from different places in Spain, they met at a camp on a picturesque plateau near Pontevedra (a city in the province of the same name in western Galicia) and discussed the shocking news: the death of King Philip V and the accession to the throne of his son Ferdinand VI. The text was written in hot pursuit — in 1746. — and it was not completed by the author: 24 characters are indeed listed on the first page, but in reality only four speak for a relatively long time — two boys and two girls who work as servants in Madrid and witnessed the key event, as well as Uncle Marcos da Portela, who plays the role of narrator — a kind of standard of the Galician peasant.

For a more complete understanding of the "Conversation...", it should be studied together with 3 related Spanish-language texts by M. Sarmiento: 1) by letter dated January 14, 1751, addressed to Francisco de Ravago and 2) a short introduction in which the author explains the idea of his work, 3) as well as a glossary to the first 194 quatrains, which the author began to compose after writing "Conversation ..." and, possibly, supplemented throughout his life. The glossary is presented only in the edition of H. L. Pensado and occupies more than 300 pages ^{[22, pp. 160-474]}. In it, the author focuses on etymology, for which he refers to ancient and Spanish authors; notes the differences between Galician phonetics and Spanish and explains his spelling decisions; comments on the realities. Other lexicographical works by M. Sarmiento devoted to the Galician language are also useful, for example ^{[21; 26]}.

In the following quote from the introduction, we would like to draw attention to two points.

«Recopiladas para mi curiosidad, y para tenerlas presentes en la memoria, en unas coplas de estilo pueril y rústico, del metro que en castellano llaman de Perico y Marica, y aunque no soy poeta y estas coplas son las primeras que hice en este metro, idioma y estilo, importa poco que no sean buenas, pues mi asunto ha sido juntar muchas voces gallegas particulares y escribirlas en su verdadera ortografía, que observé en varios instrumentos en lengua gallega, que leí en Pontevedra, y en otras partes, con singular gusto. <...> Como yo acababa de llegar de Galicia, y traía frescas en la memoria muchas voces y frases gallegas, se me antojó tentar el hacer un romanzón que comprendiese las más de ellas y al asunto dicho" ^{[22, p. 81]}.

Firstly, during his journey through Galicia in 1745, M. Sarmiento rediscovered both this area of Spain and the Galician language, and in the future, the apology of both would be constantly present in a large number of his texts. M. Sarmiento was born in the province of Leon (in the municipal district of Villafranca del Bierzo), but almost immediately the family moved to Pontevedra, so Galician became his native language, and Galicia and Pontevedra he perceived as a small homeland. At the same time, having chosen a spiritual path, at the age of 15 he found himself in Madrid and for a long time lost direct contact with the language. So the first task of the text is to capture as many examples of Galician words as possible "in their true form."

9. Se ven Portonòvo,

è junto San Xenxo,

Marin e Combarro,

Lourido, e Campêlo.

The lexicographic orientation of the text is illustrated by the 9th stanza: it shows the beginning of the list of local place names, which continues in neighboring stanzas. A large number of lexico-semantic fields are built on the same principle. The basic situation is set, for example: what people eat at the campsite, what they buy at the market, what treats are served at the festival, what the participants in the procession look like — and a few stanzas are reserved for enumeration with minimal syntactic design.

The second interesting point is the sources used by M. Sarmiento. It is known that during his three trips to Galicia (which lasted a total of 28 months: in 1725, 1745 and 1754), he studied the archives in monasteries and found there not only administrative correspondence in the local language, but also "Songs in praise of the Virgin Mary" ("Cantigas de Santa María") Alphonse X is Wise, and was one of the first in Spain to become interested in troubadours. This information appears both in the glossary in "Conversation" and in his other works on the Galician language, and allows the author to use an etymological approach and knowledge of Portuguese in terms of grammar and graphics. However, in terms of vocabulary and content, he decided to rely on live speech, which he partly remembered from childhood, partly actively recorded during his stay in Galicia. And for this purpose, he chose the form "coplas de Perico y Marica", in which satirical poems about the anger of the day were written in Spain. The author himself focuses the reader's attention not on the accusatory nature of such poems, but on the folk and "childish/childish" component ("estilo pueril y rú stico", "cantigas... que cantan os nenos", stanzas 87-88). There is not much criticism in "Conversation...", but this form allowed M. Sarmiento to use not only the neutral, but also the colloquial and sometimes reduced register of the Galician language, as well as to make the text entertaining.

Lexical and stylistic means of creating images of Galicia and Galicians in "Conversation..."

So, let's turn to the examples (we use the text version ^[24] and the stanza numbering used in earlier editions ^{[22; 23]}).

1. The landscape in the text is presented in its infancy:

1. No chàn que en Morràzo,

chaman ôs Galêgos,

Chán de Parafíta,

que chega asta ô céo.

8. Se vè ô mar bravo,

sè vè ô mar quêdo,

de Ons, èdò Tambo,

as Ilhas ao Lexos.

16. Ôs olhos se fartan

con tanto recréo,

de Terra, de verde,

de mar, è de céo.

17. Ali, nô chán dito,

subindo, ou decendo,

â gente se para

relouca de vêlo.

Note that this landscape is exactly the way it was painted by all subsequent generations of Galician and Spanish writers: vast expanses stretching to the horizon (stanza 1); the raging, then quiet sea (8); land, greenery, sea and sky (16). All this makes the most pleasant impression on a person: the eye is resting (16) and is happy to contemplate such a picture (17).

For M. Sarmiento, this image had a great emotional load: he describes places that he has known since childhood, and nature, which, in fact, he saw only in Galicia, because in ordinary life he did not leave his cell most of the time. Later, this image of Galicia became a stereotype. For example, the modern writer and publicist M. A. Murado calls it an "innocent/naive landscape" (paisaxe inocente) and scolds modern authors for it, because Galicia, in his opinion, has long ceased to be exhausted by it ^[18].

2. The importance of the natural component is also emphasized in the names of the heroes: on the one hand, we see the names of birds, on the other, the emphasis is on water sources that ensure the fertility of the region.:

Perucho dos Merlos (thrush),

Maruxa das Rulas (turtle dove),

Xepiño da Fonte (stream, spring),

Minguiña do Rêgo (stream, spring).

3. The next long lexical series is food products that create the image of an agricultural and resource—rich region. For example, at a camp, peasants take out pieces of bread and cheese, boiled chestnuts ^{[22, p. 214]}, and seasonal fruits ^[21].

20. …almorzan, merendan,

è failles proveito:

21. frangullas de pan,

migallas de queixo,

castañas mamótas,

ou fruita do tempo.

Seafood is quite plentiful, which Galicia is rightfully famous for.: mussels, crabs, crabs (22), litorines, and heartworts (23). As a special praise for the region, it is indicated that these shells are cheap (22, 23) and are sold in hundreds (23):

22. Sê compran nà Vila

por pouco diñeiro,

ameixas è ostras,

centòlas, cranguèjos;

23. E mais caramuxos,

que compran por centos,

os berberichiños

que tèm pouco prezo…

In the following stanzas, the list of food products continues (names of dishes, vegetables, meat), however, of this group of examples, stanzas 22 and 23 were the longest comments in the glossary, it occupies 28 pages. Apparently, the author wants to emphasize the uniqueness of the natural resources of the region, and therefore not only provides information on etymology, spelling and variation, refers to Aristotle, Pliny, Isidore of Seville, F. Rabelais, etc., but also analyzes quite a lot of other lexemes from this lexico-semantic field: pecèbes (sea duck), concha vieira (St. James's scallop), pôlbo (octopus), and many others ^{[22, pp. 217-245]}. Similar lists include vocabulary naming utensils and tools, fishing methods, musical instruments, and saints. The author creates an image of a traditional society engaged in agriculture.

4. M. Sarmiento also includes recognizable Galician realities in the text.

449. A istos semellan

no noso terréo,

Romages, è feiras,

con gaita, e pandeiro.

"Gaita e pandeiro" (bagpipes and tambourine) appears as a symbol of fun. The participants of the celebration, who are especially dressed up, are compared to pipers (cal van als Gaiteiros, 529). The festive procession is likened to Galician pilgrimages (romages) and fairs (feiras), timed to coincide with various religious holidays.

Among the stereotypes about Galicians, the idea of these people as very superstitious people is still alive today. Spanish and French sources of the XVI‒XVII centuries note both the numerous attempts of the Catholic Church to strengthen its position in Galicia, as well as the presence of very difficult to overcome superstitions ^{[9, p. 46]}. It is not surprising that M. Sarmiento also addressed them in his text.:

964. Jesùs! que escolér

me vas parezendo,

de cote, Xepiño,

è mais agoreiro.

967. E jà que agoràche,

como escoler meigo,

tan triste, do Conde,

è do seu Governo;

968. Eu, sen ser pieira,

nen pensare en sêlo,

nen meiga, nen bruxa,

nen cousa do Demo.

969. Húm millore agoiro

darein, è mais ledo...

Escoler (sorcerer), bruxa (witch), meiga (witch doctor) — ambiguous figures. On the one hand, they inspire fear and can bring bad luck. On the other hand, they have always been in high demand in traditional Galician society. Thus, the protocols of the Inquisition show that most of the trials in Galicia were conducted on charges not of intercourse with the devil and witchcraft, but of healing and folk medicine ^{[9, p. 47]}. "Agoiro" (969) — "omen" (the adjacent stanzas contain the same-root adjective (964) and verb (967)). The physician and writer J. Rodriguez Lopez (1859-1917), exposing Galician superstitions in his book, notes that Galicians are very inclined to make predictions and interpret all kinds of signs ^{[20, p. 22]}.

The lexeme "fada" (160, 424) — "fate, fate" — has been preserved in a number of modern phraseological units.: boa fada / mala fada — luck, luck / bad luck; botarlle a fada (unha mala fada) unha persoa a alguén — to jinx, curse someone ^{[10, p. 229]}.

160. dia de mâs fadas,

triste e muy funesto.

424. Mâs fadas te faden,

Marùxa…

In the examples given, the lexeme is used both to describe a sad event ("an ill-fated day", 160) and as an abusive expression ("fate punish you" / "misfortune befall you", 424).

The word "trasgo", used in stanza 489 as part of the phraseology "fool around, mess around", refers to a character from the folk pantheon who throws things around at night ^[11]:

489. Ou cando na vila,

ò trasgo fazendo,

berran os rapazes

nos toneles vellos?

353. Non viche Marúxa,

nas noites do inverno,

andar à Estantìga

polos matorreiros.

354. A Estantíga digo,

que chaman os vellos,

Hóstea, ou Compaña,

qu’à todos fay medo.

The characters of "Conversation..." compare the funeral procession with the phenomenon of Santa Compaña / Estantiga/ Hóstea, the nocturnal procession of souls, perhaps the most famous Galician superstition (353, 354). There are many versions of the description and behavior of these representatives of the national pantheon, but in most cases the danger from the procession comes from two reasons. First, the main task of souls is to warn people about their imminent death. Although there are ways, for example, to keep them out of the house or avoid direct contact with them in the open, they are ineffective. The second danger is related to the fact that souls take a living person as a guide: he must lead the procession, carrying a large cross in his hands. This exhausting activity quickly leads to death, so the unfortunate man is constantly looking for someone to pass on his burden to him. And in order not to be in his place, there are effective means: draw a circle on the ground with a cross in the center and hide in it, hold something tightly in your hands, have amulets (garlic, antlers of a deer beetle, incense), etc. ^{[28, pp. 112-119]}.

361. Cuiden, qu’à Raposa

de Morrazo, sendo

à outra Estantiga

do noso terreo:

363. A Besta ferrada;

ò Orco; e Carneiro

de Santa Maria,

como che esquezeron?

The neighboring stanzas mention by no means well-known representatives of the folk pantheon of scary creatures. Raposa de Morrazo (361) — a restless soul that takes the form of a fire-breathing and wistfully howling fox ^{[28, p. 144]}. Orco (363) is a fantastic animal that devours children ^[8]. "Carneiro de Santa María" (363) most likely means "carneiro negro" (black sheep), which, according to some versions, can also lead the procession of souls ^[8]. Explanation of the phenomenon of "Besta ferrada" (363) ("pantasma nocturno", "night ghost") We found it only in another work by M. Sarmiento himself ^{[26, p. 311]}.

5. The "Conversation..." also includes, let's say, "emigrant" Galicia: In Madrid, Galicians stick together. In 13 stanzas (181-193), the boy tells that he learned the news of the king's death at least seventh-hand, through a chain of several servants whose names or origins indicate that they are Galicians. The owner of Shepinho says that in the old days this bond between the Galicians living in Madrid was stronger, they behaved like a brotherhood or fellow soldiers (781-783):

781. Dixome meu dono,

que alá noutro tempo,

ja à mais de seis anos,

que os homes Galegos,

782. Que en Madril vivian

de paso, ou de asento,

cuidáran que todos,

con voto perpetuo,

783. Sempre se ajudassen

juntiños, sen medo,

num-ha cofradia,

ou num regimento…

With great love and admiration, the "Conversation..." describes the noble Galicians who should serve as an example to all other residents of Madrid. It was the Galician community that first showed signs of mourning for the king, as it was initially predisposed to the feeling of saudades (803) — an acute longing for something dear, which is also characteristic of the Portuguese.

802. Nossos conguergantes,

como mais afeutos,

antes que algums outros,

os primeiros deron,

803. Mostras das saudades,

que tiñan no peito;

desfogo das mágoas,

è do seu tormento.

The young Count de Altamira is compared to little John the Baptist (562). And about the Count de Maceda, who is expected to hold a high position, is told that he will perform his duties flawlessly, but his detractors will definitely interfere with him just because he is Galician (960-961):

960. sô por sere ò Conde

señore Galego:

961. Todos devanditos,

por mil arrodeos

farán que lle seja

nojòso ò Governo.

This tension between Galicians and other Spaniards has a historical background. The economic stability of the turn of the XV‒XVI centuries provoked a demographic explosion, and many Galicians went in search of work in Castile (for harvesting), Madrid and Lisbon, where they became bricklayers, water carriers, servants, knife grinders, porters, etc., i.e. performed extremely low‒prestige and low-paying jobs (in the XVII-The process of emigration intensified in the 18th century) ^{[27, pp. 123-125]}. Their poor knowledge of Spanish aggravated the situation and caused the formation of the image of a rude, uneducated Galician, which, unfortunately, was replicated by the Golden Age theater and proved to be very durable.

By the way, the lexeme "galego" appears quite often in the text of "Conversation ...", but "Galicia" never once, instead the author uses the name "Reino" (kingdom), referring to the more glorious past of the region.

6. The lexicographic orientation of the text and the folk poetic form largely determined the predominance of simple syntactic structures in "Conversation ..." (despite the presence of rows of homogeneous members, sentences are most often placed in one or two stanzas) and a small number of stylistic techniques. The main one is a comparison: the characters describe unfamiliar Madrid incidents to their compatriots through Galician realities. For example, grief for the king is compared to the plaintive cries of a calf that has lost its mother in the forest (211); with a troubled sea (212); with a winter thunderstorm (213).

211. Non vistes no mato,

à vez qu’hum jovenco

perdeu sua nay,

è dà muytos berros?

212. Ouvistes ò ruido,

que fai con os ventos

o mar da Lanzada

cando esta enquieto?

213. Vos lembra d’estrondo,

que fay no inverno,

o trebòm con rayos,

centellas, lostrégos?

Sometimes there are metaphors, personifications.: This is how the bells "tear the air and complain to the sky" (216):

216. Campâs e chocallos,

grandes è pequenos,

fendian ò aire,

queixabans’ao ceo.

The given form and the choice of characters contribute to both the use of reduced vocabulary and the reduction of images.

The characters argue a lot — most often they criticize the previous speaker for verbosity and the inappropriateness of some details, as a result, the text is rich in words from the lexico-semantic field "stupidity", as well as all kinds of curses (for example, the characters regularly wish each other all sorts of ailments).

Two of the most famous examples of image reduction are related to the description of the embalming process of the king's body and the musical accompaniment of the funeral procession. In the first case, Perucho uses vocabulary applicable to the sardine pickling process: the king "had his belly opened, the fish insides removed and salt, vinegar, garlic and other spices placed inside" (218, 219), and so that the body "did not stink", it was "smeared with many ointments" (220):

218. ...qu’o corpo do Rey

ò lañaran presto.

219. Sacaronlle à maga,

botaronlle drento

sal e mais vinagre,

Allos, è mais cheiros.

220. Porque non fedese,

ò corpo algum tempo

ò atustullaron

demuitosinguentos.

Marusha is outraged by this description and compares embalming to the process of slaughtering pigs for Christmas, butchering them, salting them and cooking lard and knuckle (222, 223):

222. …cando, por Nadal,

no noso terreo,

223. Matan, lañan, salgan,

os porcos bem cheos,

e fan os touziños,

e mais os codelos.

The musical accompaniment, according to the characters of "Conversation...", is no better: the beating of drums resembles the rumble of old pots (290), and the sound of wind instruments is likened to the cry of piglets in a barn, the squeaking of mice on winter nights (292) and the clucking of chickens hatching eggs (293).

290. Faziam ruido

os tamborileiros,

que mais era estrondo,

de Caldeiros vellos.

292. (os chifres) Como cando os ranchos

roncan no cortello,

è chirlan os ratos,

nas noites d'inverno:

293. Ou com’as Galiñas,

pouco mais ou menos,

à vez qu’estan chócas

fánseuscocoréos.

In some cases, a pun is created.

In the most famous example of this phenomenon, ambiguity is removed by a comment in the original manuscript, which states that "Death" is the nickname of a doctor from Pontevedra: "El Medico de Pontevedra se llama Amorte por apodo" ^[24]. In the context of diseases, it is literally said that "Death cured other people of fever with small means" (111). The glossary provides a more detailed explanation: it talks about a real doctor from Pontevedra, whom M. Sarmiento knew as a child, and who received this nickname after another prank, during which he knocked out several teeth, and his face looked like a skull ^{[19, p. 451]}.

111. Outros, de maleitas,

que estaban tremendo

sanou-hos Amorte

con poucos remedios.

The ambiguity remains in stanza 270. The king's body was carried out by strong youths because it weighed a lot, either because of spices or because of jewelry: the word "aderezo" means both ^[11].

270. Sacaronllo fora

briosos mancebos

pois pesaba muito

côsseusaderezos.

The colloquial meaning of the lexeme "pandeiro" ("tambourine" / "ass") also creates a wordplay:

585. Ay, Ay! seica, seica,

che tangue o pandeiro,

cando non fugires

de ollos lambisqueiros.

By using the expression "beating the tambourine," Shepinho hints that the soldier being served by Minginya is throwing up his hands.

There are also examples of a language game based on single-root words or words from the same lexico-semantic field. Marusha suggests that the "whiners" change the subject and talk about the new king, because at a time like this it's better to "drink as much as you want" (beber â barba reg ada) than "cry in three streams" (choràr à reg os) — single - root words are played out:

379. Mais val, chóra cricas,

beber neste tempo,

â barba regada;

que choràr à regos.

We see a similar technique in stanza 1117: Perucho reminds Marusha what, in his opinion, a woman should do (sewing, cooking, agriculture) — that's why I should not be talking about the royal court (cort e), but about the cattle yard (cort ello).

1117. Non fales da corte,

fala do cortèllo:

a ti quen che mete

falar do governo?

Reacting to this, the girl changes his nickname: she changes "thrush" (merlo) to "crow" (corvo), which has negative cultural associations.:

1143. Perucho dos Corvos,

que jà nòn dos Merlos

Another interesting technique is the deformation of Latin quotations and some words that are not included in the usual vocabulary of the characters. It allows the author to create a stylization of folk speech.:

237. "Misas do requío" instead of "Requiem",

240. "cantaron mamentos" instead of "Memento" (possibly a contamination with "lamentos"),

641. "Fergui a dusti" instead of "Ferdinandus VI" (inscription on the coin),

1055. "Mombardia" instead of "Lombardia".

Here is an example of combining wordplay with deformation. For quite a long time, the text plays out a metaphor in which Shepinho scolds women for being talkative: literally, "they spin with a thimble, and they talk with a basket.":

576. Xepiño: Sempre estas Mulleres

contan por rodeos,

fian por alfergas

e falan por cestos.

A little later, Minginya recalls this remark to him and says that she would have finished the story long ago if she hadn't been interrupted, because she was very accurate in her description (the second meaning of the verb "fiar, spin" is involved — "to reason"). But the trouble is that men "talk like a thimble, but they get in the way and interrupt like a basket."

588. Minguiña: Se non me atricases

jà estivera feito,

pois eu ben fiaba

ò conto por dedos

589. Mais todos os homes

queren, jà sabemos,

falar, por alfergas,

atricar, por cestos.

After Shepinho misreads the inscription on the coin ("fergiña dusti", 641 instead of "Ferdinandus VI", 646 (Ferdinand VI)), Minginha adds this mistake to the game. She may not be able to read, but she understands what is actually written on the coin, because there are words similar in sound (alferga / thimble, forxa / forge, alforxa / knapsack), but the (non-existent) word "ferguiña" on the coin definitely cannot be (643). Therefore, "she spins with a thimble and can decipher this strange word" (647), that is, she is more literate than her interlocutor.

643. Alfergas ou forxas

Alforxas, ou cestos,

mais esas fergiñas,

que fan no letreiro?

646. Inda que non sein

leer o letreiro,

dirà en latin

Ferriñandu Seixo.

647. E lembrate agora,

se, como che entendo,

por alfergas fio,

por fergiñas leo.

Some researchers, such as S. L. Mendes Ferrin, see social criticism in Sarmiento's text. For example, priests even have bags of food and wineskins full of wine in their hands during the funeral procession (326-328). There is a mention in the text of the decree of Philip V, according to which Galicians traveling to Castile for harvest, as vagabonds, were caught and sent to war in Lombardy (1048, 1049, 1055), as a result of which "for 300 unmarried girls in the region there were seven boys" (1060):

1048. Ben sabedes homes

que avia Degrèdo,

que prender mandaba

todos os Galegos

1049. Dempois que acabassen

de segáre; e creo,

que muitos fugiron,

asi que o souberon.

1055. Asta Mombardía,

que è terra de Demos,

à fazer alarbios

è morrer de certo.

1060. A trecentas mozas

sô sete mancébos,

tocaban, que fossen

homes casadeiros.

Such a decree did exist and, in particular, contributed to the fact that many Galicians began to choose Lisbon as their place of work ^{[23, p. 288]}.

There is also a critical statement about the language: the priest spoke Spanish, so the hero did not understand anything (866). And the boy speaks rather disparagingly about Latin: "Latin from above, in the middle, from below and from all sides" (867):

866. Dixo muitas Cousas,

de que eu non me lembro

todo en castellan

ò que eu non entendo.

867. Latins por arriba

latins pòlo medio,

latins por abaixo,

latins nos extremos.

Here it is impossible not to recall that in many notes and letters M. Sarmiento spoke about the value of the native language and, in particular, that Latin should be taught to Galician children in Galician, not Spanish ^[7].

Conclusions

To summarize. Galicia appeared in the "Conversation..." as a beautiful, rich in natural resources, and blessed, above all, with an agrarian region. Galician heroes, even after leaving their small homeland, are aware of themselves as a special community, they are deeply embedded in popular culture with its holidays, superstitions and linguistic wealth, there is some tension between them and other residents of Madrid. Noble Galicians who have achieved a good position at court are practically idealized, while ordinary peasants, despite some lack of restraint in language and judgment, are sympathetic and have a sense of humor in their own way. M. Sarmiento allowed himself a few critical remarks, but, in our opinion, they are not an end in themselves, but harmoniously fit into the overall somewhat the ironic tone of the work.

Among the linguistic means of creating these images, several features can be noted. Well-known words predominate in the vocabulary denoting specific realities, but there are also rare, possibly regional lexemes, which makes "Conversation ..." interesting material not only for the historian of language, but also for the ethnographer. The lexicographic orientation of the text and the folk form determined its structural and stylistic features: the syntax is quite simple, the rows of homogeneous members that unite words according to the principle of lexico-semantic fields attract attention, comparison, wordplay, irony and image reduction are important among stylistic techniques. The grammatical and graphic components demonstrate the polymorphism inherent in the texts of the non-normative period of the history of the Galician language, while the comments in the glossary indicate attempts to comprehend this polymorphism by combining etymological and phonetic principles.

M. Sarmiento was ahead of his time in many ways, he had no direct followers, and most of his works began to be studied by philologists only in the second half of the twentieth century. At the same time, there is reason to believe that the text we are considering was nevertheless accessible and familiar to some figures of the Galician Renaissance of the 19th century. and their successors. So, the first printed edition of "Conversation..." in 1859. It was carried out by S. M. Pintos, a poet and public figure, the forerunner of this cultural movement. And V. Lamas Carvajal named the first newspaper published entirely in Galician (1876-1889), in honor of the hero of "Conversation ..." — "O Tío Marcos d'a Portela". Therefore, for the historian of the language, R. Marinho Paz, the contribution of M. Sarmiento to the process of "spontaneous development of the literary standard of the modern Galician language" is obvious ^{[23, p. 93]}.