How Soviet policies changed the Ukrainian language through dictionaries

“Language under Siege: Reshaping Ukrainian Language and Identity through Dictionaries”

The paper explores the relations between Soviet assimilative language policy and lexicography, highlighting how dictionaries were employed to establish linguistic norms favouring the dominant language. It traces the evolution of Russian-Ukrainian dictionaries and examines the covert mechanisms behind these policies. The focus is on the destructive techniques aimed at corrupting and weakening the Ukrainian language through lexicographical tools. Key issues include the deactivation of Ukrainian lexemes, the erasure of entire dictionaries, and the physical repression of lexicographers. The paper argues that dictionaries served as powerful instrument of Russification, with lasting detrimental effects on Ukrainian literature and book publishing.

Bio note

Valentyna Savchyn is an Associate Professor in Ukrainian Studies at Lund University. Her research encompasses various aspects of the Ukrainian language, with a particular focus on dictionaries and literary translation within the historical context of Soviet Ukraine. Her work also delves into the strategies employed by translators and lexicographers to resist Russification. She is the author of a monograph titled Mykola Lukash As a Pillar of Ukrainian Literary Translation (Litopys, 2014; in Ukrainian) and over a hundred articles and book chapters that provide a nuanced perspective on the historical contextualization of literary translation during the era of Soviet Ukraine.