The national core of the lexical-illustrative base of Ukrainian dictionaries of the first half of the 20th century

On the material of the Archival Card Index

Abstract

The article focuses on the topical issue of language as a civilizational and nation-building value in the context of the struggle for Ukrainian identity. The study is devoted to the problem of the national core of lexical-illustrative material in the Archival Card Index as a linguistic source. The subject of the study is the linguistic content of the card index of Ukrainian dictionaries of the early 20th century from the lexical, phraseological, grammatical, etc. points of view. The goal is to find out the features that highlight the aesthetic parameter of the formation of the national language, the dynamics of its semantic component, spelling norms, etc. Using the method of structural analysis, lexicographic description, and generalization, were identified those language units that can be included in the register or recommendation section of a modern dictionary of the active type as synonyms — forgotten, unfixed or returned. For the first time, the materials of the ACI became the object of this type of research, such as lexemes and quotation material to them: клейнодець, котва, сліпи, сварливий, крижники; сипнути наздогад, не було на молоці — не буде й на сироватці.

The main result of the research is that the analysis of the fragments of the Archival Card Index — the lexical-illustrative base of the lexicographic work of the early 20th century — is a base: for solving lexical, grammatical, phraseological issues of the modern language; development of the recommendation section of a modern dictionary of the active type from the point of view of returned language resources. The ACI is rich in examples that reflect linguistic features different from today’s codified examples; a rich synonymous series of Ukrainian words highlights the shades of meaning of Ukrainian units. The prospects for further study are that the considered materials are the basis for developing and deepening the theory of nationally marked features of the Ukrainian language.