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Paper short abstract

The paper analyses linguistic representations and discursive strategies expressing the unfounded belief in changelings in the Šariš dialects of Slovak, comparing them with motifs in other traditions, and examines how such culturally embedded beliefs are reinforced and transmitted.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the unfounded belief in changelings, known in the Šariš dialects of Slovak as odmeňec, prečiraňec, or vimeňec. It situates local practices within a broader comparative framework, drawing parallels with similar motifs recorded in other cultural traditions (cf. Ashliman 1997; Goodey & Stainton 2001; Radenković 2002; Navrátilová 2004; Renner 2016). Historically, belief in changelings was most prominent when scientific explanations for illness or disability were unavailable or inaccessible. Attributing a child’s condition to supernatural substitution offered families a more comprehensible ‒ if drastic ‒framework for coping with distressing circumstances and for justifying them to themselves, their relatives, and the wider community. The analysis addresses perceptions of who was responsible for the substitution, the circumstances under which it occurred, and the measures taken to prevent it in the Šariš dialects of Slovakia. It also considers narratives of the child’s miraculous return and the perceived benefits of the belief for both mother and child. Special attention is given to discursive strategies employed by speakers to persuade others of the reality of changelings, illustrating how Šariš dialects of Slovak functioned to reinforce and transmit culturally embedded yet unfounded beliefs. Although such explanations appear today as irrational relics, they reveal how unfounded belief in the existence of changelings provided psychological relief and social justification in contexts of limited knowledge.