Ukrainian-Russian Mixed Speech “Suržyk” within the System of Ukrainian and Russian Interaction

Abstract

The question of different forms of real and/or presumed mixed speech, a consequence of the interaction between Ukrainian and Russian and widely known as “Suržyk,” remains central in much of contemporary Ukrainian and, more widely, East Slavic sociolinguistic and language contact research. This article pursues a twofold aim: first, I intend to reaffirm my personal hypothesis on the formation process of this mixed speech, which has at times been cited without attribution in the scholarly literature. Second, the paper aims to examine the functioning of Ukrainian-Russian Suržyk within a broader sociolinguistic framework that takes into account other forms of language interaction. Ukrainian-Russian mixed speech in fact has to be assessed and separated from other factors, such as the Ukrainian variety of Russian, dialects, etc. This approach has rarely been applied in previous studies on the topic. The role played by current language ideology is a further essential aspect in establishing which language elements should be attributed to Ukrainian-Russian Suržik. This undoubtedly affects the average speaker’s judgment about the degree of authenticity of Ukrainian forms. One can note a tendency to restrict the synonymic potential of Ukrainian in favor of lexemes and constructions that are dissimilar to Russian. This situation tends to alter the language consciousness of younger generations of Ukrainian speakers, who are likely to perceive as Russian (and therefore part of the Ukrainian-Russian mix) elements that are in fact authentic Ukrainian speech elements. These and other related aspects will be the object of my discussion.

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