The Significance of the Unsaid in the Dictionary: Lexicographical Evidence of the Status of Ukrainians in the Soviet Union

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dc.contributor.authorYasakova, Nataliiaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-12T07:51:41Z
dc.date.available2026-01-12T07:51:41Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractBackground. The eleven-volume "Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language", published in the Soviet Union, avoided mentioning certain words and meanings. Given the socio-political circumstances under which it was created, and the history of Soviet interference in the publication of Ukrainian dictionaries, the omission of certain words and phrases is to be considered in the context of the implementation of state policy towards Ukrainians as one of the USSR nations. A vivid example is the practice of lexicographical processing of names that reveal the fight of Ukrainians for their political independence. Сontribution to the research field. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that, using nouns denoting persons as an example, it discloses the practice of silencing in the Soviet dictionary of certain words intended to strengthen the influence of the authorities, and construct a Ukrainian identity which was suitable for the Russian-Soviet empire. Purpose. The aim of the article from the perspective of post-colonial linguistics is to highlight the causes and consequences of the absence from the most comprehensive Ukrainian Soviet dictionary of nouns denoting persons, associated with the experience of resistance to Moscow authorities and the idea of creating a Ukrainian state. Methods. The research is based on the principles of critical discourse-analysis by N. Fairclough, who emphasises the connection between language, authorities, and ideology. The analysis of the dictionary includes textual, discursive and socio-cultural dimensions. Causes and consequences of omissions in the dictionary have been interpreted from the perspective of the post-colonial approach, having taken into account the consequences of the creation of the dictionary as well as the practice of using omitted words in Ukrainian texts from different years. Data from the General Regional Annotated Corpus of the Ukrainian Language (GRAC) was used to establish the practice of word usage. Results. The dictionary does not contain names referring to members of nationalist organisations and armed groups, derived from the names of their leaders (banderivets, bulbivets, melnykivets1), names of military formations and political organisations (upivets and ounivets2.) The dictionary also lacks the names mazepynets and bohdanivets3, associated with Ivan Mazepa and Bohdan Kmelnytsky, two historical figures, crucial to the formation of Ukrainian identity, as well as the terms derzhavnyk and samostiinyk4, linked to the idea of the political independence of Ukraine, and being key components of the anti-imperial discourse. Most of these words were used in Soviet publications to condemn the actions of "Ukrainian bourgeois nationalists". All of these words appeared in works banned by the Moscow authorities that covered Ukraine’s past or the activities of Ukrainians outside the USSR. Discussion. The eleven-volume "Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language" represents Ukrainians in accordance with the official ideology of the USSR. Its authors were unable to describe the past and the present of their nation in a full manner. As a result, epistemological gaps in the dictionary contributed to the construction of Ukrainian national identity, which was part of the Soviet imperial project. A critical study of Ukrainian dictionaries will make it possible to trace ideological changes and the construction of Ukrainian national identity during the colonial and post-colonial periods. Interpreting what was silenced in Soviet-era works will help to understand the specifics of the Ukrainian colonial experience and improve the scientific description of the Ukrainian language.en_US
dc.identifier.citationYasakova N. The Significance of the Unsaid in the Dictionary: Lexicographical Evidence of the Status of Ukrainians in the Soviet Union / Nataliia Yasakova // Мова: класичне - модерне - постмодерне. - 2025. - Вип. 11 (спеціальний випуск). - С. 145-170. - https://doi.org/10.18523/lcmp2522-9281.2025.11.145-170en_US
dc.identifier.issn2522-9281
dc.identifier.issn2616-7115
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.18523/lcmp2522-9281.2025.11.145-170
dc.identifier.urihttps://ekmair.ukma.edu.ua/handle/123456789/38064
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.relation.sourceМова: класичне - модерне - постмодернеuk_UA
dc.statusfirst publisheden_US
dc.subjectdictionaryen_US
dc.subjectUkrainian languageen_US
dc.subjectpost-colonial linguisticsen_US
dc.subjectSoviet colonialismen_US
dc.subjectdiscourseen_US
dc.subjectnounen_US
dc.subjectUkrainian national identityen_US
dc.subjectarticleen_US
dc.titleThe Significance of the Unsaid in the Dictionary: Lexicographical Evidence of the Status of Ukrainians in the Soviet Unionen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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Випуск 11 (Спеціальний випуск)
Кафедра української мови