Lexis and Phraseology of the Ukrainian Official-Business Language in the Dictionaries Published During the 20th – the Beginning of the 21st Centuries

Abstract

In the proposed monograph dynamic processes in lexis and phraseology of the Ukrainian official-business language during the 20th – the beginning of the 21st centuries were outlined on the material of the 37 dictionaries. The register formation principles of the Russian-Ukrainian common language dictionaries and official-business and law language dictionaries were ascertained. The main tendencies of official-business lexis development during the stated period were defined. There was performed the comparative analysis of the lexemes and phraseological units given in the selected dictionaries. The most frequently used in the official-business communication lexical-semantic groups of derivatives from the roots –вер-, –рук-, –вѣд-, –яв– were distinguished. There was given consideration to the variability in usage of the key terms. In particular, specific examples demonstrate the mechanisms of Russification of the Ukrainian official-business vocabulary, which were used in the 30s–80s of the 20th century. Despite the fact that a significant part of the modern Ukrainian official-business lexicon is made up of borrowings from the Russian language, recently the tendency to form official-business terminology on the original Ukrainian basis has been more and more developed in Ukrainian lexicography. In an effort to exclude from business terminology lexical and grammatical elements alien for the Ukrainian language, lexicographers now refer to the works of linguists of the 1920s – one of the most productive periods in the history of Ukrainian lexicography. The author argues that the use of the experience and achievements of linguists of the early twentieth century is a necessary condition for the normalization of the business language at the present stage of its development. To visualize the dynamic processes in the official-business lexis during the stated period comparative tables were made. The standardization advice for the official-business dictionaries’ compilers was given. The book is intended for lexicologists, dictionary compilers, university professors, philologists, and all those interested in the history of the Ukrainian language evolution.