Humor of Canadian Ukrainians: After the Diaspora Editions (the 1910s – 1980s)

Abstract

The article is an attempt to describe the peculiarities of the laughing culture and humor of Ukrainians in Canada (1910s – 1980s – the first – fourth waves of emigration) as one of the important factors in the preservation of national identity, traditions of folk culture, indicators of the reflection of the sociology of Ukrainian immigrants and their descendants, the dynamics of the communication field of the diaspora community, transformation of Ukrainian language in the multicultural environment of Canada, which is reflected in humorous speech and other creative genres. A review (on a selective basis) of the works of the representatives of the humorous workshop, which has been imprinted on the pages of diaspora editions of Canadian Ukrainians (magazines, calendars, calendar-almanacs), providing their space for published works, promulgation, distribution of various forms of laughing culture and folk humor is known as a testimony (generated in a word) of the immortality of the Ukrainians national culture. Ukrainian humor, which occupies its niche in the linguistic picture of the world, is considered as a reaction of the linguistic personality-immigrant on the social and cultural processes of the English-speaking surroundings. The materials submitted in this article reflect Ukrainian humor – very emotional, sharp, witty, snarky, and from time to time – ironically-sad, merciless to oneself as an individual, but never angry, not poisonous, not such as to degrade human dignity of a stranger – this is the eternal height of the ethnic culture of the people, its worldview, outlook, philosophy. A unique cultural and historical phenomena of preservation of the national culture of their historical homeland, its peculiarities, traditions, and mentality by Ukrainians of Canada is described in the light of the Institute of Laughter Culture, the space of which includes not only the printed word, stage art, but also ethnic choreography, musical and artistic works. Applying the methodology of a whole range of humanitarian disciplines, a section of the history and development of social communications in the immigrant surroundings is investigated from the point of view of one, but multifaceted and multi-colored factor – folk humor, the change of the Ukrainian folklore complex; the speed of integration into the English-speaking culture and the inevitable objectivity of this process and ability of the immigrant community to comprehend and perceive creatively the influence of other cultures of multicultural Canada, but at the same time, to resist acculturation, the absorption of its ancient culture. The problem hasn’t been investigated in science, in particular, in history, in Slavic folkloristics, in such a formulation.