POLISH-UKRAINIAN SONG „HEJ, SOKOŁY!” („HEJ, EAGLES!”): SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS AND SEMANTIC DOMINANTS

Abstract

The object of this study is a popular Polish-Ukrainian song „Hej, sokoly!” („Hey, Eagles!”) which exists in two variants – a Polish one and a Ukrainian one – and is considered to be one of the most favorite ones in Poland and Ukraine. The object field of the research is aimed at the nature of the song as a social and cultural discursive process which is a complex interaction of extra-linguistic and linguistic factors and is regarded in its historical perspective as well as from the point of view of correlations of the individual and the social. The use of sociocultural interpretation and decoding methods represents the object as a multidimensional phenomenon connected with contexts of creation, communicative intentions of the author, the pragmatic determination of the things said. The linguistic means used in the work effectuate the complex configuration of meanings, primarily love for the native land, its glorious past and sorrow for the lost. The linguistic embodiment of the semantic dominants is carried out on the basis of stereotypical images which contribute to high sincerity of feelings and growing popularity. The centre of the conceptual space of the work comprises lexemes denoting a human being, nature, material culture, and chronotope. Simultaneously it is influenced by the dramatic farewell to the native land, the beloved woman, and sad feeling of inevitability of events. The work shows a broad spectrum of the character’s communicative behavior that represents different communicative acts expressing such notable traits of the Ukrainian Cossacks as sincerity of feelings, courage, and love for their native land. The analysis has proved the hypothesis that the song „Hej, sokoly“ is a cultural phenomenon, a peculiar document of the historical epoch performing cognitive and educational functions in different aspects – historical, worldview, ethical and aesthetic.