The Stereotype of the Ukrainian Tongue in Light of the Oral History Based on Hryhorij Arkuszyn’s Chrestomathy "Hołosy z Pidlaszszia and Hołosy z Berestejszczyny"

Feliks Czyżewski

Abstract

Using a sociolinguistic method, the paper discusses the linguistic awareness of the Ukrainian speaking communities of the regions of Southern Podlasie and Belorussian Polesie. The analysis of the respondents’ statements found in the two volumes of Hryhorij Arkuszyn’s chrestomathy identifies both the characteristic features the dialects of the two communities share and the features that are dialect-specific. As to the common characteristics present in the awareness of the local communities shaped by the respondents’ historical experiences, they include references to the Second Polish Republic linked to the idea of the common state territory and the complex linguistic and confession-linked relationships (“orthodox speech”). Another common feature that transpires from the responses analyzed is a comparable communicative situation: both the local communities of the Southern Podlasie region and the region of Belorussian Polesie are bilingual and sometimes even multilingual. The paper discusses situations involving “code-switching” as seen from a sociolinguistic perspective, based, inter alia, on the criteria of the age of the respondents and their educational background.

Another important issue seen through the prism of the responses analyzed is the respondents’ awareness of the dialectal links with the nation-wide tongue of the Ukrainian and Belorussian speaking communities living beyond the state borders. The analysis shows a varied linguistic awareness in this respect. Some (though not many) respondents link the language with the national awareness, others view it as an identification token of a local community. The paper discusses the respondents’ statements showing the varied degrees of awareness of the Ukrainian speaking communities, depending on the respondents’ age, the educational background, their mobility and their observational skills.