Sociolinguistic phenomena in contemporary Ukrainian dictionaries

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of interaction between sociolinguistics and lexicography focusing on the relationships between sociolinguistics and the Ukrainian academic lexicography, sociolinguistics and Ukrainian folk lexicography, and briefly considering the problem of interaction between academic and folk lexicography. Sociolingual information, its perception and awareness have a significant impact on the Ukrainian academic lexicography, which is directly revealed in the macro- and microstructure of dictionaries and their metalanguage. The analysis of the ideologically and socially marked lexicon demonstrates the capabilities of academic lexicography to record and adequately interpret linguistic units, taking into account the rapid changes in the sociocultural space of Ukraine and the world, and the facts of the social biography of speakers. The use of sociolinguistic methods contributes to the formation of a scientifically balanced vocabulary register, ensures the collection of various empirical material capable of reflecting the richness and diversity of the Ukrainian vernacular. Observations of the folk lexicographic practice exercised by Facebook users tells us they resort to lexicography unconsciously, directly responding to events in the socio-political, economic and spiritual life of society. However, behind the external “carnival” of folk lexicography lies an effective tool ordinary Facebook users successfully use in the information war against the Russian aggressor. For a comprehensive study of the linguistic situation and language policy in Ukraine, the value orientations of Ukrainian society, Ukrainian-Russian bilingualism, diglossia, language competence, language variation, etc. both materials from academic and folk lexicography can be used, but it is quite clear that the objectivity and impartiality of the results obtained directly depend on how the dictionaries are compiled – in a scientifically sound, methodologically balanced manner or in a chaotic, unsystematic and emotional way. Keywords: Ukrainian sociolinguistics, academic lexicography, folk lexicography, ideologically marked vocabulary, socially marked vocabulary.