Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.34075/sb.65.3.1
Linguistic characteristics and ritual tasks of liturgical language
Milan Dančuo
; Catholic Faculty of Theology University of Zagreb
Abstract
This article analyses the linguistic characteristics and ritual tasks of liturgical language in the context of ritual verbal and non-verbal symbolic communication. The celebration of the liturgy in the vernacular after the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council has brought the issue of language and its ritual functions to the fore. This paper approaches the mentioned issue and is divided into several parts. First, language is viewed as one of the fundamental human realities. Then, church documents are presented that bring the fundamental theological emphases and characteristics of liturgical language in the context of the translation of liturgical texts into the vernacular in the period after the Council until today. The starting point is the theological premise that liturgical language has its foundation in God's Revelation and God's communication with humankind, and liturgy is viewed as a continuation of such communication and dialogue with God, especially in the proclamation of the word of God in sacramental celebrations. In linguistic analysis, liturgical language is viewed through its specificity of style and register, in which features such as archaism, specialized vocabulary and formulaic diction are recognized. Emphasizing the peculiarities of liturgical language in ritual dynamics, its style, different types, connection with the vernacular are analysed, and the criteria of comprehensibility and accessibility are emphasized. At the end of the paper, the basic ritual tasks of liturgical language are listed. Through ritual language in its symbolic meaning, God speaks to the Christian community, which achieves communication with him, and the active participation of the faithful in the celebration is promoted.
Keywords
liturgy; language; liturgical language; rite; symbol; symbolic communication; celebration
Hrčak ID:
343448
URI
Publication date:
19.1.2026.
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