Кафедра української мови

Permanent URI for this collection

https://ekmair.ukma.edu.ua/handle/123456789/12208

Browse

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

Favorite Letter: Shifts in Language Ideologies as Reflections of Overcoming Postcolonial Ambivalence in Wartime
(2025) Kobchenko, Natalia
Background. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, besides all traumatic consequences for Ukrainian society, has led to fundamental shifts in self-awareness and self-identification of Ukrainians, and these shifts have been reflected in language ideologies. In addition to explicit changes regarding the switching of a significant percentage of Russophone Ukrainians to the Ukrainian language, there have also been profound changes concerning rethinking the role of language in constructing identity and preserving statehood. Contribution to the research field. This study serves as a case analysis examining the development of language ideologies within a postcolonial society through their expression in various textual and visual representations of a single symbol— the letter "ї", which has emerged as a symbol of the Ukrainian language and a marker of its distinctiveness. The importance and originality of this study lie in the fact that it helps us to understand the cultural and psychological shifts in society during the period of a unique historical experience: from the formal liberation from colonial dependence to the time of armed resistance to recolonization. Purpose. This study aims to analyze language ideologies of Ukrainians represented by the letter "ї" from 1991 to the present day and find out how they reflect different modes of thinking regarding colonial experience, its realization and overcoming. Methods. The research methodology is based on the theoretical framework of such interdisciplinary fields as postcolonial studies, language ideology, and critical discourse analysis. Taking into account the diversity of empirical material, in addition, certain insights of graphic linguistics, studies of linguistic landscape, and geosemiotics have been added to the research tools. Results. Until February 24, 2022, the language ideologies of Ukrainian society represented by the letter "ї" reflected a state of postcolonial ambivalence. The language ideologies of uniqueness, attitude towards the language as a national treasure, and sacralization conveyed an anticolonial mode of thinking, as they were aimed at denying Soviet narratives about inferiority, provincialism, and the unprestigious status of the Ukrainian language. Meanwhile, the ideology of femininity expressed the colonial way of thinking directly as it embodied a view of oneself from the colonizer’s perspective. The language ideologies of weakness and endangerment as a legacy of being under the control of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union were triggered by the strong position of the Russian language in the public space. After February 24, 2022, the language ideologies of femininity, weakness, and endangerment represented by the letter "ї" have been displaced by ideologies of masculinity, strength, and resistance, broadcasting anticolonial thinking. At the same time, certain tendencies testify to the decolonization of thinking as well: 1) the attitude towards language as a national treasure (a feature of postcolonial societies) has changed to a pragmatic attitude (as a means of communication); 2) the ideology of uniqueness has not been based on the opposition to the Russian language but instead realized in a global context, which evidences a departure from the cognitive dichotomy "colonizer – colonized"; 3) the role of the Ukrainian language in constructing identity and maintaining sovereignty has transited from symbolic to practical. Discussion. In Ukraine, the process of overcoming colonialism and coloniality unfolds in a non-linear way. After formal liberation from political dependence in 1991, the period of postcolonial ambivalence, which is inherent in the coexistence of anticolonial and colonial modes of thinking, occurred. After Russia’s full-scale invasion, the process of decolonization was activated, which coincides with anticolonial resistance that is reflected in thinking as well, in particular in the transformation of linguistic ideologies.
The Interpretation of the Vocative Case in Ukrainian Language Education: Scientific Foundations and Socio-Political Factors
(2023) Kobchenko, Natalia; Yasakova, Nataliia; Ozhohan, Vasyl
The paper traces the dynamics of the interpretation of the grammatical nature of the vocative in Ukrainian grammars from the 16th century until the present. The subject of the analysis is the content and presentation of this category in two sections of Ukrainian grammar books: 1) morphological, which clarifies the status of the vocative in the inflectional paradigm of the noun, and 2) syntactic, in which the means of expressing address are characterized. Based on the findings of the research, various trends in the description of the vocative in different historical periods have been identified, in particular: 1) until the beginning of the 20th, it was unequivocally qualified as an equal member of the inflectional paradigm of the noun, equal to other cases; 2) from the beginning of the 20th century to 1933 was a period of competition between two theories (the vocative is a case the same as others or the vocative is not a true case, but a "special" form in the inflectional paradigm of the noun); 3) the canonization of the "fake case" status theory; 4) from 1991 to the present there has been an unanimity of authors in qualifying the vocative as a case. Comparing the stages of fundamental changes in the scientific definition of the vocative in grammars with defining events in the history of Ukraine provides the basis for discussions about the influence of socio–political factors on the representation of linguistic theories and the codification of the linguistic norms.
Ukraine-Russia Relations: Case Study Or Challenge For Decolonial Theory?
(2025) Kobchenko, Natalia
Review of : Biedarieva, Svitlana. Ambicoloniality and War: The Ukrainian- Russian Case. Palgrave Macmillan Cham, 2025. The development of postcolonial studies has reached such a potent level as of now, enabling it to answer many difficult questions regarding the relationships between former colonizers and former colonized. At the same time, considerable criticism has been voiced in connection with the postcolonial approach being applied to researching the past and present of Ukraine. Russia’s war against Ukraine, in particular its full-scale stage, on the one hand, has reduced some notes of caution regarding the appropriateness of applying postcolonial and decolonial lenses to studying Ukrainian history and contemporary issues, and, on the other hand, raised some methodological questions, challenging some established frameworks. In this context, the release of Svitlana Biedarieva’s book is very timely. On the one hand, it clarifies certain issues in the discussion about the colonial status of Ukraine, and, on the other hand, it initiates a completely new discussion – on the concept of ambicoloniality. In my opinion, the dual role of this book is determined by the motives that encouraged the author to write it, their aims, the object of research, and the dynamics of the academic field. In my view, understanding these four points is the key to interpreting the book.
Use of corpus data to assess the functional potential of the grammeme (on the basis of the Ukrainian vocative case)
(2024) Kobchenko, Natalia
It is known that changes on the grammatical level of the language system occur less frequently and more slowly than at the lexical level, and, therefore, it is difficult to notice and record them from a synchronic perspective. Observations of certain grammar shifts in communication of some professional or territorial communities do not allow us to fully assess the grammar trend. Thus, this study aims to apply corpus data (in particular, General Regionally Annotated Corpus of the Ukrainian Language (GRAC)) to assess the functional competition between the vocative and nominative in expressing address to the recipient of the speech. The paper proposes a new methodology to assess the functional potential of the grammar form. It is based on the thesis of the correlation between the functional strength of a grammar form and its ability to extend to newly-derived words. A group of feminine personal nouns that came into use in recent decades (not recorded in the Ukrainian Language Vocabulary in 11 volumes) served as lexical data for testing this methodology. The results of analysis of the case forms that are common for feminine personal nouns in the addressee position lead to the following conclusions: 1) refuting the statement about the expansion of the nominative in the modern Ukrainian language due to it displacing the vocative; 2) introducing feminine personal nouns into the address domain of the vocative.
Verbalisation of an alternative academic position in totalitarian discourse
(2023) Kobchenko, Natalia
Background. In Soviet Ukraine, academic discourse often acted as a means of implementing language planning, in particular as a tool for the transformation of the language corpus. All grammar textbooks published after 1933 broadcast the official knowledge: the vocative is not a full-fledged case, but rather a special form of address; morphological means of expressing address in Ukrainian are the "vocative form" and "nominative case." In the conditions of total control over all areas of social life, Ukrainian linguists were faced with a choice of either 1) look for certain language devices, broadcasting the official theory, which would convince the addressee to believe in the talking points that did notfully comply with the language facts, and then anchor those points in their consciousness; 2) avoid aspects that disagree with the language practice or the logic of academic description; 3) word the findings of their research and observations of the language practice in a way that would not contradict the official theory. Contribution to the research field. The article is dedicated to the analysis of the communication practices used by Ukrainian linguists in the Soviet times to express their academic position, which did not agree with official knowledge. The object of comprehension was a unique for postcolonial societies situation in which the creators of both the official discourse and the alternative discourse opposed to it were the colonised themselves. Purpose. The aim of this research is to analyse ways and means of verbalisation of the alternative academic position held by linguists in the academic discourse of the totalitarian era, based on the materials representing the topics "The Case System" and "Address" in Ukrainian grammar books for higher education, published between 1933–1991. Methods. The research is based on the theoretical and methodological foundations of postcolonial studies, which involve a critical reading of texts that reflect the influence of various forms of authority on the life of subordinate communities. In particular, the theory of critical reading of J. Errimgton’s linguistic works and R. Vodaks’ methodology of discourse-historical approach, which has been adapted for academic discourse analysis, have been applied in this research. Results. Some linguists, who did not share the canonised theory of the vocative, implied their point of view in the official texts they had created (i.e. textbooks for higher education.) On the one hand, they used official terminology and theoretical concepts: they were consistent in naming the vocative case a “vocative form,” and presented two ways of expressing address. On the other hand, the lexical and grammatical structure of their statements levelled the postulates regarding the fact that "vocative is not a case", and that "the nominative case is used to express address on par with the vocative." Among the techniques used by the linguists, heavily euphemistic speech in combination with syntactic complication of the structure prevailed, as well as splitting nominations by verbalising the concept with variant naming and violation of logical connections between consecutive statements. Such individual practices of linguistic resistance replicated the practices of the official totalitarian discourse, but with the aim to broadcast the opposite meaning. Discussion. The peculiarity of the alternative academic discourse (in particular, the language education one) of the totalitarian era lies in the fact that it did not directly confront the official theory, but rather occurred within its boundaries. This gives a reason to consider some Ukrainian linguists of the Soviet period as creators of both colonial and anti-colonial discourses.

Browse

Browsing Кафедра української мови by Author "Kobchenko, Natalia"

Results Per Page

Sort Options