Ukrainian: A Comprehensive Grammar by Stefan M. s> Pugh Ian Press (review)

Abstract

Reviews Pugh, StefanM. and Press,Ian. Ukrainian: A Comprehensive Grammar. Routledge Grammars. Routledge, London and New York, I999 xv + 3I5 PP. Notes. Tables. Bibliography. Index. 650.oo; [27.50. UKRAINIAN language-learningmaterialscompiled with English-speakingusers in mind have, in the past, been few and farbetween. This new workfrom the authorsof Colloquial Ukrainian is a welcome additionto the small,but gradually growing,body of publicationsin thisfield. The word 'grammar'is used in the titles of a variety of publications, from prescriptiveor descriptiveaccounts of a language to textbookswith exercises. Ukrainian. A Comprehensive Grammar is, first and foremost, a description of the language, includingvariationsand changes in its use acrossspace and time. This pioneering English-languagereference grammarof Ukrainianwill be of value to those wishing to studythe language in depth, as well as to teachers of Ukrainian as a foreign(orsecond)language. The book lives up to its name in that it provides a comprehensive and detailed descriptionof the language. Apart from the main text, it contains an introductionwhich places the Ukrainianlanguage in itshistoricalcontext and discusses its place in the family of Slavonic languages. An attempt to define Ukrainian as it is today, and a briefdiscussionof standardformsand varieties (and in particularwords perceived as Russianismsor Polonisms),is included both here and in the preface, with frequentreferencebeing made to this issue throughoutthebook. The introductionalsocontainsa glossaryof grammatical termsused in the book (essentialin these days of a less traditionalapproachto the teaching of grammar),a useful list of Ukrainian grammaticalterms with theirEnglishequivalents,and listsof greetingsand interjections. The main text contains chapterson sounds and spelling, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals,verbs, adverbsand conjunctions.Both the approachand the organization are traditional. Each chapter begins with general remarks and then goes into a detailed discussion of the various aspects. For each subtopic , detailed definitionsand explanationsare given of characteristics,usage, word formation, historical development, variants and exceptions. Ample illustrationsand examples areprovided. In many respects the book is what it claims to be: user-friendly,clearly set out, detailed and thorough. The chapters are divided into sections and subsections and are numbered and, if one knowsthe grammaticalterminology, it is easy to findwhat one is lookingfor. Some aspects, however, are problematical. It is not alwaysclear for whom the book is intended. The authors' scholarly interest in the Ukrainian language, its history, development and present state, is reflected throughout the book, and this makes for a grammar which will be fascinating for researchersand those with a deeper interestbut, perhaps, ratherdaunting for the beginner or student who only wants to gain a working knowledge of the language. One would perhaps have liked to see, in the introduction to each chapter,an overview (howeversimplifiedand incomplete) of the whole system REVIEWS 321 (of nouns, for example), which would make the structure of the language easier to grasp. Some of the descriptionsand explanations are couched in the language of linguistic scholarship, rather than in terms accessible to the average language student, and are, at times, rather complex, requiring an efforton the part of a non-specialistuserof the book. The authors exercise circumspection in defining standardUkrainian. This is understandable,as the language was not allowed to develop freely for most of its modern existence. However, measures are now being taken in Ukraine to define and evolve standardsand to impose norms. Criticismsof these are frequently expressed by academics and the population but, apart from a limited number of contentious issues, one finds a significant degree of consensus as to perceptions of standard literary language among true Ukrainian native speakers,that is, those who learnt the language at home and were educated in it. A more coherent approachby the authorsto definingthe modern standardlanguagewould have been veryuseful,especiallyto students. Each grammarpoint is amply illustrated,but the examples are not always labelled as to register, variety, dialect, etc., or whether they are historical, outdated or used mainly in the diaspora. Some phrases are marked as being rareor archaic, but this stillleaves a large numberwhich are not labelled and are unlikelyto be used in currentspoken or writtenUkrainian. The inclusion of fewerexamples of thiscategory, and more from contemporarymassmedia, would have resulted in a more balanced view of current Ukrainian. An indication of which of two or more variants is the preferred choice of the average educated Ukrainianwould also have...