Comparative study of Ukrainian and Russian Languages and problems of sociolinguistics

Sokolova Svitlana
Doctor of Science, Professor, Leading Researcher of the Department of culture of language, stylistics and sociolinguistics, Institute of the Ukrainian Language of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
4 Hrushevskyi St., Kyiv 01001, Ukraine
Е- mail: a-senchuk@ukr.net

Heading: Researches
Language: Ukrainian

Abstract: Ukrainian sociolinguistics started to develop in the 60-s of the 20-th century. At that time, comparative studies between Ukrainian and Russian were mainly focused on finding common and not distinctive features of compared languages. Russian language was placed in exceptional conditions as a language of inter-ethnic communication, which was be known and used by everybody whereas the level of national languages proficiency was secondary one. Both grammar and dictionaries of the Ukrainian  language were to be composed following the  sample of Russian language grammar and dictionaries. However, practical researchers noted that difficulties of comparative study of sister languages is not so math that the languages have common features and each of them has its own peculiar features, but these peculiar features are always on the surface of this or that phenomenon, they are not always easily distilled from lexicon common sister languages and quite often to disclose this peculiarity is possible only by careful linguistic study.

Russian language active adverbial participle is a regular verb form and it can be formed from practically any verb. In register parts of Russian-Ukrainian nontechnical dictionaries hypostasis of adverbial participles is, practically, absent and in special dictionaries their translation as a rule are given in the form which as much as possible coincide with the Russian form. New Russian-Ukrainian dictionary in 4 volumes (2011-2014) partially compensates this gap, but it cannot cover all terminology. That is why improvement of dictionary of technical terms in this respect is most important task of contemporary Ukrainian Studies. It is necessary to promote contrastive research with bringing in up-to-date Ukrainian text material with participation of researches – native speakers who live in corresponding language environment. Probably it is necessary to make corresponding alterations in regulation for defending thesis.

Impact of dictionaries of Russian language on Ukrainian lexicography became evident not only in peculiarities of index but also in the structure of dictionary entries, which quite often were  built on word semantic structure of a word, as seen by Russian lexicographers. This is particularly evident in verbs with developed polysemy. In practical language usage, in bilingual environment, it manifests itself even more under the influence of transfer and becomes even stronger with widening the functions of Ukrainian language.

Against a background of increased interest to Surchik from foreign researchers, for whom Ukrainian and Russian are languages well known, and with introduction of publications in wich Surchik is discussed as a sort of a system, it is necessary for Ukrainian linguists to make in depth-study with due regard to territorial (including dialectal) and societal properties of its native speakers as well as tendencies of interference impact (Ukrainian-Russian and Russian-Ukrainian Surchik).

Keywords: comparative study, Ukrainian, Russian, lexicography, semantic structure of the word, interference.

LEGEND

• Литв. – Lytvynenko, N.P., Misnyk, N.V. (2010). Interpretative dictionary of medical terms: in Russian, Latin and Ukrainian languages: for doctors, scientists, medical students. Kyiv – Irpin (in Ukr.).
• Нікон. – Shapkin, E.I., Nikonov, V.V., Shapkin, V.E. (Eds.). (1998). Russian-English-Ukrainian medical dictionary. Kharkiv (in Ukr.).
• НКРЯ – National corps of the Russian language. URL: http://www.ruscorpora.ru/search-main.html
• Присяж. – Prysiazhniuk, M.S. (1995). Russian-Ukrainian medical dictionary of the professional language of specialists in internal diseases (with the interpretation of terms). Kyiv (in Ukr.).
• РНС – Bolotina, A. (1996). Medical Dictionary (Russian-German and German-Russian). Moscow (in Rus.).
• РУС 1 – Russian-Ukrainian dictionary: in 3 vol. (1980 – 1981). Kyiv (in Ukr.).
• РУС 2 – Russian-Ukrainian dictionary: in 4 vol. (2011 – 2014). Kyiv (in Ukr.).
• РУСНТ – Symonenko, L.O. (Ed.). (1996). Russian-Ukrainian Dictionary of Scientific Terminology. Biology. Chemistry. Medicine. Kyiv (in Ukr.).
• СУМ – Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 volumes. Kyiv, 1970 – 1980.
• Усат. – Usatenko, O.K. (1996). Russian-Ukrainian dictionary of medical terminology. Kyiv (in Ukr.).
• Черв. – Cherviak, P.I., Zakharash, M.P. (1997). Russian-Ukrainian medical dictionary. Kyiv (in Ukr.).
• Mova info – Mova info. Linguistic portal. URL: http://www.mova.info/corpus.aspx?l1=209

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