Use Of Ukrainian Research Articles

Ukrainian–Russian bilingualism in the war-affected migrant and refugee communities in Austria and Germany: a survey-based study on language attitudes

IntroductionThis paper provides an initial exploration of Ukrainian–Russian bilingualism in the context of the war-affected migration from Ukraine to Austria and Germany. While extensive research exists on various aspects of Ukrainian– Russian bilingualism in relation to Ukraine itself, thus far no studies have been conducted on this bilingualism in the diasporic context, i.e., as a language of the first and subsequential generations with a migrant background in Austria and Germany.MethodsTo address this research gap, our paper examines the language attitudes of two respondent groups with a Ukrainian background in the two countries: migrants and refugees who left Ukraine after 2014 and those who left after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. In the framework of a sociolinguistic survey, we describe their current attitudes regarding the use of Ukrainian and Russian, among others, in relation to the actual and intended use of the language(s) in the multilingual context of migration. The survey eliciting information on demographic information, language proficiency, language attitudes and language use was conducted on 406 Ukrainians in two host countries (Austria: n = 103; Germany: n = 306). First, we compared self-rated proficiency in Ukrainian and Russian as well as attitudes and use of these languages. Second, we applied a network modelling analysis to determine the nature of relationships between these variables.Results and discussionThe results indicated that proficiency in Ukrainian and in Russian were the strongest nodes in the model affecting language use and language attitudes toward the respective languages. Our data analysis focused on the pragmatic and symbolic value of Russian and Ukrainian playing a crucial role in the language vitality in multilingual settings. The paper discusses the imbalanced correlation of the symbolic and pragmatic value of Ukrainian and Russian in the diasporic Ukrainian communities. While Ukrainian has gained a higher symbolic status, Russian maintains a better pragmatic one, despite its negative symbolic status. However, we anticipate that the increasing symbolic value of Ukrainian and the diminishing value of Russian will lead to an increase in the use of Ukrainian also in Russian-dominant bilingual groups of Ukrainian migrants and refugees, even as an insider-code in hermetic minority groups.

Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovyanenko as a founder of prose genres of the Ukrainian literary language

The article analyzes the role of the creative work of Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovyanenko in the formation of the novel Ukrainian literary language. The writer laid the foundations of two linguistic and stylistic trends of Ukrainian literary prose, namely laughing and humorous one thus continuing the Ivan Kotlyarevskyi’s activity, and a new for the Ukrainian literature sentimental one. The article is mainly focused on highlighting the vernacular specificity of the H. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko’s stories and novels reflected in phonetic, morphological and syntactic features. The lexical structure of the writer’s language, which is based on the contemporary patois of the Slobozhanshchyna region with Church Slavonicisms and Russianisms inclusions, is studied in detail. The wealth of the synonymous series as well as the high variability of the word forms, which may be explained by the absence of stable norms at the initial stage of the formation of the literary language, are noted. The lexical irregularity and territorial proximity to the Russian dialects areals led to some cases of the parallel use of Ukrainian and Russian lexemes to denote the same realities in the texts of H. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko. Searching for linguistic means for the formation of a high style, the writer turned to folklore sources as well as to imitation of contemporary works of the sentimental Russian literature. The results of the study have proved that the folklore sources used by H. KvitkaOsnovyanenko organically complemented the vernacular nature of his works, while the linguistic and stylistic adoptions from the Russian literature broke the homogeneity of the linguistic basis of individual works of the sentimental genre affecting their ideological and thematic solution. However, these drawbacks do not diminish the fundamental importance of the legacy of the first Ukrainian novelist in the history of the Ukrainian literary language. Keywords: Ukrainian literary language, Slobozhanshchyna patois, Church Slavonicisms, Russianisms, lexical variability.

Maik Iohansen: Nomina Omina (1929)

Iohansen's humorous essay deals with inadvertent translingual puns in Kharkiv store signs, as well as casts light on the ideological significance of the public use of Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian in the early Soviet period.

Ukrainian in public space: examples from Poland and Germany (2022–2023)

This paper explores the presence of the Ukrainian language in Poland and Germany. Language in public space is the subject of numerous studies, and different questions are in its foreground, among which multilingualism analysis enjoys particular popularity. In this study, we follow the theory of semiotic landscapes, which is about evaluating a language in interaction with other (visual) impressions. Some theoretical approaches are presented before selected examples of the use of Ukrainian in Poland and Germany are documented. In both countries, the material which forms the corpus for the study was collected in the period from February 2022 up to March 2023, including some boards with inscriptions in Ukrainian that can be found at railway stations in Poland and Germany and at the Warsaw airport. These inscriptions are important for the refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine since 2022, be-cause they facilitate a lot their orientation abroad. Methodologically, the study focuses on the evaluation of representative samples from this corpus by applying a nexus analysis, which is about combining different analytical perspectives with each other, including sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, and other components. New insights are driven from the intersections of the analyzed components. Grounded on the nexus analyses, this paper proposes a typology of selected examples, which reveal common aspects, but also significant differences between sign boards in Ukrainian met in Poland and in Germany.

Creation of potato hybrids (Solanum tuberosum) progeny with high field resistance against phytophotorosis

The creation of new potato varieties with prominent economically valuable properties and comprehensive resistance against the most common diseases is one of the main areas of crop breeding at present. First of all, this is due to the possibility of increasing the gross production of potatoes, improving its economic performance, as well as the tasks of protecting the environment from pesticide pollution, which contributes to a substantial improvement in the environment and obtaining environmentally safe products. The purpose of this study was to identify varieties with a prominent level of yield and resistance against potato blight in the western region of Ukraine. The study was conducted using field (assessment of disease development), laboratory, analytical, and mathematical and statistical methods. The paper provides a theoretical substantiation and a new solution to the important scientific task of establishing the specific features of the use of Ukrainian and foreign varieties, intervarietal and multispecies hybrids by parental forms in potato breeding. The study summarized the features of the manifestation of productivity components, quality traits, resistance to potato blight, correlations between economic and valuable traits, selection of new parent forms for intervarietal and interspecies hybridization, nature of high productivity, quality and potato blight resistance of breeding material, and created genetically valuable varieties with great value in potato selection and for agricultural production of Ukraine. Based on this, the possibility and effectiveness of the combination of the transfer of traits to the offspring and their inheritance was proven, which will expand the existing base of initial breeding material for further work on the creation of promising potato varieties of different maturity groups with highly valuable economic traits

КОНЦЕПТ «ВОЇН» У МОВНІЙ КАРТИНІ СВІТУ УКРАЇНИ Й ІСПАНІЇ XXIСТОЛІТТЯ

The article provides an in-depth examination of the evolving concept of “warrior” during Russian aggression in Ukraine. It highlights the paramount importance of cognitive linguistics in unravelling the ways in which language shapes and is shaped by our beliefs, particularly in times of social and political unrest. Based on an analysis of Ukrainian and Spanish media, this study highlights the significant impact of cultural and cognitive frameworks on the communication of concepts in language. This understanding provides an essential basis for a comprehensive study of the development of the concept in different cultural and linguistic contexts. The research definitively establishes the importance of cultural influences in shaping linguistic expressions and, consequently, worldviews and ideologies. It also reinforces the idea that language is not just a means of communication, but a powerful tool for propaganda, persuasion, and the construction of national identities. The use of Ukrainian and Spanish media as analytical focal points allows for a cross-cultural and cross-linguistic comparison, enhancing our understanding of how the notion of a 'warrior' is perceived and represented in these unique contexts. The article offers an insightful perspective that sheds light on the complex interplay between language, culture and evolving social dynamics.

Family language policy in families of Ukrainian origin: maintaining ties to heritage and fostering well-being

Ukrainians constitute the third largest ethnic group in Estonia (The Population and Housing Census, 2011). In the same time, it regrettably becomes evident that the maintaining of the language and culture of the Ukrainian minority living in Estonia and their attitudes towards their own heritage language have hardly been studied at all (see also Küün, 2022). This study seeks to fill mentioned gap by adding information on the family language policy practiced by the Ukrainians living in the Republic of Estonia to the field of research concerned with family language policy (FLP) and transmission of the heritage language and culture. The article describes the role of Ukrainian Sunday schools in two Estonian towns, Tapa and Sillamäe. Some of the parents of children studying Ukrainian language and culture in Sunday schools in mentioned towns are involved as informants of the study. I used four semi-structured interviews in frame of case studies as my research method. Study results reveal that the role of language and culture related Sunday schools should certainly not be underestimated in strengthening national mindsets and a sense of belonging, learning the heritage language, and encouraging the use of Ukrainian. / Keywords: family language policy, language ideology, language practice, language management tools, languages of education, Ukrainian Sunday school, Ukrainian

Formation of the language identity of the residents of Central and Southern Ukraine in the conditions of tricodalism (Ukrainian Language – Russian Language – Ukrainian-Russian mixed speech)

This article aims to analyze the features of linguistic socialization and formation of the language identity of the residents of central and southern regions of Ukraine, which are normally considered as a territory of Ukrainian-Russian bilingualism and Ukrainian-Russian code-mixing, i.e., so-called Surzhyk. The relation between the dominant language of the respondents and the factors of formation of their speech competence is described in four contexts as follows: 1) a parent’s language and communication in a family; 2) a close environment language; 3) a school language; 4) a language of books, television, and the Internet. Being conducted on the basis of sociolinguistic data obtained from the 2014—2020 survey in the region and semi-structured in-depth interviews with mixed-language speakers, the research combines quantitative and qualitative research methods. In families, respondents mostly use their main language with their children. In Ukrainianspeaking families, there is a partial shift toward mixed speech (Central Ukraine) or Russian (Southern Ukraine). In Russian-speaking families, this shift is toward Ukrainian with respect to mixed speech. The influence of the school language on respondents’ speech shall be differentiated. While the school language is quite significant for the skills formed during school education, e.g., reading and writing, it much less determines the choice of the respondents in their everyday speech. The peer environment also defines the development of children’s/teenagers’ speech competencies. According to the respondents, Ukrainian prevails in peer groups. This is determined by a number of factors, e.g., the spread of Ukrainian-language education and preschool education, the increasing number of books in Ukrainian, television products and Internet content in Ukrainian, the increasing use of Ukrainian in culture, and public services. Keywords: language socialization, language identity, Ukrainian-Russian code-mixing

СТРАТЕГІЧНЕ ПЛАНУВАННЯ РОЗВИТКУ ТЕРИТОРІАЛЬНИХ ГРОМАД

Досліджено здійснення стратегічного планування розвитку територіальних громад, визначено напрями його удосконалення в Україні, до яких віднесено: оновлення нормативно-правової бази здійснення стратегічного планування розвитку територіальних громад; організацію чіткої системи взаємодії органів державної влади та органів місцевого самоврядування щодо здійснення стратегічного планування розвитку територіальних громад; залучення до розробки та реалізації стратегій підготовлених фахівців, які повинні знати функції, процеси, принципи та методи стратегічного планування розвитку територіальних громад, вміти здійснювати стратегічне планування, розв’язувати сучасні проблеми розвитку територіальних громад в Україні. Необхідним постає підготовка, перепідготовка й підвищення кваліфікації уповноважених на здійснення стратегічного планування розвитку територіальних громад в Україні задля підвищення якості підготовки ефективних управлінських рішень в процесі стратегічного планування, вивчення та використання українського й зарубіжного досвіду щодо визначення цілей, стратегічних пріоритетів і конкретних заходів з їх реалізації при підготовці стратегій розвитку територіальних громад, та щодо проведення моніторингу, оцінки ефективності та результативності їх реалізації. Огляд та аналіз найкращих практик здійснення стратегічного планування розвитку територіальних громад сприятиме забезпеченню якості підготовки управлінських рішень, посиленню їх ролі в процесі стратегічного планування, прийняттю різноманітних ефективних управлінських рішень в органах місцевого самоврядування в процесі стратегічного планування. В умовах глобальних викликів необхідним постає подальше удосконалення механізмів стратегічного планування розвитку територіальних громад в Україні, що потребує нових наукових пошуків.

„Piedmont”, „Banderstadt”, and the „Cradle of nationalism”. Ethnopolitical study of a city

The West Ukrainian city of Lviv is often described as a „cradle”, or „hotbed”, of Ukrainian nationalism, within a broader media-spread narrative that counter-opposes Ukraine’s allegedly „nationalistic West” and so-called „pro-Russian East”. The article questions this quasi-binary opposition at the both formal-logical and substantive level, and examines the factors that informed and still tend to support the „nationalistic” image of the region. It finds out no data-based evidence of a higher level of xenophobia or intolerance in Western Ukraine if compared with other Ukrainian regions or some neighboring states, and concludes that the primary reason for the „nationalistic” othering of the city of Lviv and the Western Ukraine was their defiance of the Soviet rule, Soviet norms and values in the post-WWII period. That defiance had many forms but the most manifestly observable was a brazen free use of Ukrainian in the urban environment, deemed „nationalistic” and stigmatized elsewhere in Ukraine. The article draws on the earlier observations of close connection between Ukrainian identity (nationalism) and pro-Western orientation (set of values), determined by a peculiar development of the Ukrainian national project since its very inception in the first half of the 19th century. The higher patriotic mobilization in Lviv (and in Western Ukraine in general) is seen as the main reason for a higher level of social optimism and apparently exaggerated assessments of personal well-being in Lviv vis-à-vis Ukraine’s average. Nowadays, West Ukrainians and the denizens of Lviv face a difficult dual task: to tackle their burdensome „nationalistic” image and to play the self-assigned role of Ukrainian „Piedmont” that leads both the national revival and social modernization. The emphasis on the latter, the essay implies, might be a good key to the successful managing of the former. Key words: Lviv, Western Ukraine, nationalism, xenophobia, propagandistic othering and stereotyping.

The development of the language situation in the field of e-commerce in Ukraine

This article examines the current development of the language situation in the field of electron- ic commerce (e-commerce) in Ukraine being impacted by the language legislation which regulates the use of languages in e-commerce. The study focuses on two time periods of the use of Ukrainian and Russian languages in online stores, that is, 2018 — the 1st half of 2019 and 2021. The language used in the field of e-commerce is regulated by the On E-Commerce Law (2015) and the On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language Law (2019), and the language situation in e-commerce is characterized by the Ukrainian-Russian bilingualism with a predominance of the Russian language. There is a large number of on-line stores in Russian which websites will not feature in the official language. The exceptionsencompass the most popular and most visited online stores aiming for customers from all regions of Ukraine and, therefore, supporting bilingual websites. The Ukrainian language is mostoften used by online stores whose products refer either to the national idea, e.g., embroidery shops, patriotic and national symbols clothing or to the owners’ civic pro-Ukrainian position manifested. The predominance of Russian was established as an outcome of the long-term non-interference language policy of the state in the e-commerce sector. However, the analyzed data reflect some positive changes in the online stores’ linguistic representation, e.g., Ukrainian-language versions added to the significant number of the websites in 2021 and the numbering is rising. Imposing the e-commerce websites in the Ukrainian version, the language law is a major cause of the e-commerce language situation change. Keywords: sociolinguistics, bilingualism, linguistic situation, e-commerce, Ukrainian, Russian

Трансонімізація топоніма Чорнобиль в українському поетичному дискурсі

The article analyzes the phenomenon of transonymization of the toponym Chernobyl in the Ukrainian use and poetic discourse. It is proved that according to the traditional metonymic model ‘place [city] of event → event’ a homonymous chrononym is formed, in particular such its variety as catastrophony or excithonym (name of world catastrophe) as a more narrow variant. It is emphasized that researchers of semantic-associative development of the onym Chernobyl did not discover the phenomenon of transonymization. It is stated that both the toponym Chernobyl and the chrononym, which is formed as a result of transonymy, exist in the Ukrainian poetic discourse. The peculiarities of their paradigmatics are revealed. In particular, the use of the oikonym Chernobyl is accompanied by the following semantic increments ‘a place of accident, danger’, ‘an uninhabited / abandoned city’, ‘an exclusion / disaster zone’, ‘radiation’, ‘life’, ‘death’. In literary texts, the catastrophony Chernobyl clearly reveals temporal semantics with the help of temporal prepositions or comparison with the temporal lexeme. This onym shows a strong associative connection with death, sometimes actualizing the semes, which testify to the closeness of its referent with the corresponding natural elements ‘fire’, ‘wind’. The chrononym Chernobyl also reveals the meaning of a large-scale all-Ukrainian or global disaster, often used with other excitonyms, combined with the meaning of ‘nuclear explosion’. In the poetic discourse, the case of further transonymization of the catastrophony Chornobyl, from which the corresponding zoonym is formed, is revealed, as well as the noticeable movement of this chrononym in the direction of pragmatonymy. The writers use a step-by-step individual-authorial unfolding of the semantics of the onym Chornobyl, accompanied by the obligatory sacralization or, conversely, demonization of its referent. On the example of the onym Chernobyl we can observe the connection of poetic discourse with the usual tendencies of transonymization, which gives grounds to reveal the specifics of the individual-author approach to the creation of new proper names in this way.

IMPROVEMENT OF FINANCIAL LEVELS OF REGULATION OF AGRARIAN SECTOR DEVELOPMENT

Introduction. The article is devoted to substantiation of ways of solving the problem of improvement of financial levers of regulation of agrarian sector development. Methods. On the basis of scientific generalization of classical views of the classics of economic and famous scientists of Ukraine and the use of scientific methods of formalization, deduction, inductive, abstract and logical (for the analytical study of scientific sources, which highlight the workings of scientists in view of the outlined problem), also economic-mathematical (for establishing the cause and effect dependence and trends of the studied factors), statistical comparison (to determine the dynamics of the studied indicators over a long period) and logical generalization (to formulate conclusions based on the results of research into the problem of improving financial and economic relations in the agricultural sector of Ukraine), an attempt was made to substantiate ways of improving the regulation of the domestic agrarian sector development. Results. It is emphasized that the shortcomings of the financial levers used to regulate its development, resulting in increasing absorption of the state budget resources, not only do not ensure the agrarian sector's exit from the protracted crisis, but provoke, as it happens with compensation to the agrarians of interest on bank loans, their increase. Equally ineffective are direct budgetary allocations for various types of payments to agricultural producers - from certain sums to cover part of the cost of excessively expensive fertilizers, inflated insurance tariffs, payments per hectare of winter wheat, one cow, extra cows, and extra young cattle, etc., which are torn from the context of not only macroeconomic regulation but also of market relationships in general. They are not much different from the former extracurricular mechanisms, such as the cheapening of the cost of fuel and lubricants by covering part of the costs of collective farms and state farms for their purchase at the expense of budget financing, or subsidizing the difference between retail and wholesale prices of milk, butter and meat. Discussion. It is emphasized that the way out of the crisis in the agrarian sector of Ukraine is possible only through a thorough review of financial and economic levers, in particular, to eliminate the existing disparity in prices for agricultural products, as well as with banks and insurance companies - to achieve the adequacy of relations with the features of agricultural production and ukrainian use of a stimulating stabilization policy.

HUMOROUS DISCOURSE OF MODERN UKRAINIAN COMBATANT PROSE

During the last few years a significant number of texts covering a huge range of genres have been appeared within the Ukrainian literary community with a purpose to depict the recent wartime events in the east of the country. The prose, written by the combatants, is an important and interesting phenomenon of modern Ukrainian literary process. The use of comic varieties is an integral part of military prose and prose of the combatants, for mocking at the enemy and joking about (making fun of) own problems provides psychological support and helps to hold on in the fight. The ways of using comic varieties in modern Ukrainian prose of the combatants were analysed in the article. The study tested the role of comic elements in these texts. There are a lot of comic varieties in structure of prose of the combatants. Soldiers often describe the military weekdays with humour, especially the funny situations in which they or their brethren-in-arms got. The use of Ukrainian, Russian words, surzhyk and profanity in dialogues is a most popular way to depict comic situations in their prose. This method is used by Martin Brest and K. Mashovec. Combatants use satire and the grotesque too (e.g. the novel by W. Zapeka). In this case, harsh criticism of wartime realities is transmitted using a character-resonator. This reception deepens and contributes artistic diversity to text about the war, helping to avoid banality of presentation. Combatants are also using self-irony (O. Tereshchenko). This way of writing texts allows Combatants to tell about difficult things in a lightweight form. When this happens, the reader should work closely with a text to separate the «joking narrator’s» mask from the real author, whose life is easy only at first glance. Therefore, a text becomes a complex narrative structure.

The Ukrainian–Russian Linguistic Dyad and its Impact on National Identity in Ukraine

This essay asks what place language holds in the composition of Ukrainian national identity and whether the use of Ukrainian and Russian across Ukraine indicates a split in identity. Despite acknowledging the potential of these two languages to generate political cleavages, the essay shows that language controversies have not necessarily impeded the population’s attachment and loyalty to the Ukrainian state. Moreover, the increasingly civic nature of Ukrainian national identity—particularly since Euromaidan—appears to be an important factor that allows people to speak Russian and still identify strongly with the Ukrainian nation.

Creation of Digital Images of Documents and Photographic Materials in Museum Practice by Technologies of the State System Insurance Fund of Documentation of Ukrainian

The article presents a technique to create images containing information about cultural values in digital form for the formation, maintenance and use of Ukrainian Іnsurance Fund of Documentation (IFD) based on the creation and registration of their information contents (complex digital images) by the results of scientific attribution. The methodology was tested on materials (documents, photographs, negatives on film and glass) of the History Museum of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The informational content of the material results of human creation is the result of a person's allocation of a personal context from knowledge about them, which should be understood as an organized, integrated collection of facts and generalizations. The result of the process of context selection from knowledge depends on a large number of factors, among which are the purpose, content and amount of knowledge, perceptions and skills of the person performing the process, public perceptions of value and importance, etc. The solution of the problem of storing the information content of cultural values lies in the complex solution of the following tasks: person`s separation of the context from the knowledge of the material results of human creation, that is, the creation of completely specific information; presentation of this information in the form of data; determination of the presentation of data and bearer corresponding to that type. The testing results the proposed methodology confirmed the validity of the hypothesis about the possibility to create complex digital images of cultural values on the basis of scientific attribution in order to obtain more complete quantitative and qualitative data on the objects of material and spiritual culture while creating cultural heritage Insurance Fund.

ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ОСВІТНІХ ПОТРЕБ ПРЕДСТАВНИКІВ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ГРОМАДИ У ЦЕНТРАХ ШКІЛЬНИЦТВА У ПОЛЬЩІ

The article deals with the role of educational centres in preserving the national identity of the Ukrainian community in a foreign cultural environment. Schools with a native language education are of considerable importance, since the use of Ukrainian and the observance of traditions are the main factors in preserving culture.The stages of the Ukrainian schooling development in Poland within the period from the mid-20th to the beginning of the 21st c. are аnalysed, the functioning of schooling centers under the conditions of interaction between the title Polish nation and the Ukrainian minority is considered. It has been found out that the dynamics of the formation of Ukrainian schooling in Poland as a system depended on socio-political factors. Numerous organizational and pedagogical approaches in the development of Ukrainian schooling are identified. It is noted that the study of Ukrainian takes place at different educational levels: preschool institutions, primary schools, grammar schools and general secondary lyceums. Attention is payed to a widespread form of language learning in Poland – Sunday schools. The fact of a special place of church organisations in preserving traditions is noted.The importance of the mother tongue as a major factor in hindering assimilation processes has been highlighted. The significance of the activities of such cultural and educational organizations as the Ukrainian Social and Cultural Society (later the Organization of Ukrainians in Poland) and the Ukrainian Teachers’ Society, as well as its founder and chairman Yaroslav Hrytskovian, a Polish scholar of Ukrainian origin, is emphasized.The directions and the educational achievements of schooling institutions in a multicultural environment, as well as the problematic issues relating to the functioning of the cultural and educational centres are considered.

ЛІНГВІСТИЧНІ ЕКСПЕРИМЕНТИ Т. ШЕВЧЕНКА, АБО ЗАГАДКА, ЧОМУ РОСІЙСЬКА МОВА ОБРАНА МОВОЮ ПИСЬМЕННИЦЬКОГО ЩОДЕННИКА (до 200-ліття від дня народження письменника)

The author of the article fi nds out reasons why Т. Shevchenko wrote his diary in Russian. The opinions of scientists and authorial refl ections are generalized for the representation of reasons that explain the underlined problem. The authour describes such reasons as: the absence of Ukrainian prose style because of tsar’s prohibitions on the use of Ukrainian; Т. Shevchenko’s disposition to game (including language game), linguistic experiment associated with Shevchenko’s psychotype, his ironic nature, capacity for humor, jokes, game; stay in Russian environment, the desire to speak Russian perfectly (to communicate with Russian-speaking friends, artists, etc.); citizenship of the Russian empire. T. Kosmeda compares Kobzar’s Russian-language lingual activity with М. Gogol’s literary activity.

The ecology of language in classrooms at a university in eastern Ukraine

Using an ecology of language framework, the purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which English as a medium of instruction (EMI) at a private university in eastern Ukraine allows for the use of Ukrainian, the state language, or Russian, the predominantly spoken language, in large cities in eastern Ukraine. Uses of English and Russian or Ukrainian were documented over nine months in the form of ethnographic field notes, audio recording, and video recording. Semi-structured interviews and informal conversations captured student and teacher attitudes towards English and Russian or Ukrainian use. Similar to practices in observed English as a foreign language classes at the same university, the authors found multiple pedagogical purposes for using the predominant native language (L1), Russian. Teachers and students consider the use of the L1 in the classroom to be a natural function of the need for comprehension. Ukrainian appeared in a limited form, but in ways that indexed its position as a national language. Attitudes towards Ukrainian also supported the ideology of Ukrainian's position as a state language.

Language Policy in Ukraine

This article seeks to shed more light on Ukraine’s language problem by specifying popular views of policies the state should pursue in the language domain. Aiming at the delineation of possible ways to reconcile the preferences of main ethnolinguistic and regional groups, it analyzes their views of the valid and desirable legislative and institutional arrangements. The data come from a nationwide representative mass survey and twenty focus groups in different parts of Ukraine. The analysis shows that Ukrainian-speakers would like to see their language dominant in all domains but are ready to put up with the widespread use of Russian, provided that their own right to use Ukrainian is not questioned and the titular language retains the priority status and exclusive role in some symbolically important practices. In contrast, Russian-speakers prefer an upgrade of the status of Russian, which they present as a way to ensure the equality of speakers of the two languages but most of them actually want official bilingualism to let them remain unilingual in their capacities both as citizens and as employees. The best solution would be to adopt compromise legislation providing for a limited upgrade of the status of Russian and then facilitate its observance by both bureaucrats and citizens. However, the new language law adopted under President Yanukovych was widely perceived as endangering the use of Ukrainian and thus contributed to confrontation rather than compromise.