Dialects in the Current Sociolinguistic Situation in Ukraine

Abstract

The article attempts to consider Ukrainian dialects from a sociolinguistic perspective. In particular, the article describes the factors which influence attitudes to dialects and determine its level of prestige. The main factors described are Ukraine’s language policy and teachers' approaches to students' language competence. The article gives examples of statements by scholars, writers, and dialect speakers about the place of dialect in literary language and in everyday communication, as well as the phenomenon of switching codes from dialect to literary language or from dialect to another language, which often causes discomfort for dialect speakers and provokes intolerance in their peers. Ways to form a positive image of dialects are proposed, which could help improve the image of the Ukrainian language. Important measures which could be taken to achieve this aim are an increase interest in the publication of dialect texts and the creation of literary works in dialect.

Keywords

• dialect
• literary language
• sociolinguistic situation
• code switching