Cosmos 28 (2012), The Notion of Fate (Russian судьба) in Slavonic Folk Tradition: An Ethnolinguistic Approach IRINA A. SEDAKOVA ABSTRACT. This article interprets, through an ethnolinguistic approach, the complex Slavonic notion of fate as seen through language, folklore and rituals. The vocabulary, beliefs about and the mythological views of the notion of fate reveal the prevalent ideas about its genesis, content, determination and variety. This analysis of the data shows that the notion of fate, from the perspective of the Slavonic tradition-bearer, is a complicated mixture of concepts regarding who makes judgements about fate, whether fate can or cannot be changed, or even whether one’s fate is or is not predetermined from childhood. Besides the similarities in the lexicons and beliefs, there are some marked distinctions between Slavonic cultures in the vocabulary (especially the linguistic borrowings), the set of mythological beings and the ritual complexes aimed at bringing about the desired fate. KEYWORDS: fate, Slavonic folk culture, mythology, folklore, rituals, ethnolinguistics Emily Lyle has long expressed deep interest in the Moscow School of ethnolinguistics founded by Nikita Ilyich Tolstoy and the works published by him and his colleagues. In Cosmos, Emily has published the English translation of two articles by Nikita Tolstoy (2005) and Svetlana Tolstaya (2005); she has also referred to these works and other ethnolinguistic ideas in her own presentations and publications. One of the most important achievements of the Moscow Ethnolinguistic School is the encyclopedia, Slavonic Antiquities. Ethnolinguistic Dictionary which has been worked on for over thirty years by Nikita Tolstoy, Svetlana Tolstaya and a group of colleagues (Tolstoy 1995-2012). This article is based on my entries to this