ESSAY ON THE LANGUAGE SITUATION IN THE UKRAINIAN DANUBE REGION

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to outline the current language situation in one of the multiethnic, and, accordingly, multilingual and multicultural regions of Ukraine — Budzhak. The Research objectives are: a) to identify the main differential features of the language situation in the region; b) to identify the components of the language situation — idioms that interact in the studied region; c) to identify the functional load of idioms in everyday and official communication; d) to study the influence of standard (literary) languages on dialect systems. The object of the study is the language situation in one of the region of Ukraine; the subject of the study is the structure and peculiarities of the modern language situation in the multiethnic region of the Ukrainian Danube. Conclusions. In the studied region the language situation is complex, exoglossic (idioms (dialects) of different languages interact: Bulgarian, Gagauz, Albanian, Moldovan (Romanian), Ukrainian, Russian, etc.); endoglossic (dialects and standard languages compete); unbalanced (components are functionally unequal and are distributed by spheres of use). Ukrainian serves as a language of official communication and education, while Russian serves as a lingua franca and informal communication. We see the prospect of further research in the study of interlingual interaction, mixed dialects and regionalisms. We consider it necessary and urgent to draw up a programme of comprehensive sociolinguistic research of the region as a model that can be used in other multiethnic regions in order to improve language planning and language policy of the state in general.