Surzhyk (Ukrainian and Russian: , , ) is a mixture between Ukrainian and Russian languages, used in certain regions of Ukraine and the neighboring regions of Russia and Moldova. The phenomenon of surzhyk is commonly interpreted as an application of Russian-language words and idioms in combination with Ukrainian speech, which makes it essentially a heavily Russified version of colloquial Ukrainian,
Etymology and terminology
The term surzhyk (Ukrainian: суржик) comes from the Proto-Slavic roots *sǫ- ("with," "together") and *rъžь ("rye"). Historically, the word referred to the grain product consisting of a mixture of different grains (such as wheat and rye) or the flour and bread produced from such a blend. In its original sense, it meant a lack of purity or a "half-breed" grain, which provided the metaphorical basis for its modern sociolinguistic use.
While the term is sometimes associated in popular talk with the word "surrogate" (as in a "surrogate of Ukrainian and Russian"), linguists generally classify this as a folk etymology. This modern association likely reflects the social stigma and perceived "artificiality" of the language rather than it's legitimate linguistic origin. The transition from an agricultural term to a label for language contact began as the blending of Ukrainian and Russian features became a prominent feature of the regional linguistic landscape of a Russian influenced Ukraine.
According to Bilaniuk (2005), "Any perceived mixing of different languages may merit the label ["surzhyk"], and perceptions vary depending on individuals' linguistic backgrounds. The term can refer to a high degree of code-switching by bilinguals or to a linguistic code in which the elements of the two languages are inextricably fused. Thus the definition of "surzhyk" as a whole remains primarily ideological, although we can list the influences and forms that fall under this umbrella term". She distinguished five categories of surzhyk:
- urbanized-peasant surzhyk;
- village-dialect surzhyk;
- Sovietized Ukrainian surzhyk;
- urban bilinguals' surzhyk (habitual language mixing by bilinguals); and
- post-independence surzhyk.
The first three forms represented the introduction of Russian elements on a Ukrainian base (the first two originally mostly involving 19th-century rural Ukrainians inside Imperial Russia), while in the last two forms, the mixing of languages went both ways, with the post-independence surzhyk (or "reverse surzhyk") mostly representing urban native Russian speakers trying to acquire better Ukrainian language proficiency in independent Ukraine.
Surzhyk is recognized as an intermediate linguistic combination of traditional Ukrainian dialects and standard Russian. Another way to classify this is as a stabilized mesolect. Since it reflects the influence of both Ukrainian and Russian, it is constituted as a mesolectal continuum with regional variants. Surzhyk contrasts the spontaneity of the linguistic process with a regularized system. It is also common for many speakers in central and southern Ukraine to acquire this linguistic system in early childhood.
In a broader context, the term surzhyk is sometimes used as a generic label for various language contacts within the post-Soviet space, such as the Russian-Romanian mixed speech found in Moldova. Within Ukraine, rural dialects in the western regions are often colloquially (though technically inaccurately) called a Polish-Ukrainian surzhyk due to heavy Polish influence; however, linguists distinguish these regional dialects from the Russification patterns of the central and eastern surzhyk. While the word almost exclusively means Ukrainian-Russian mixing when used within Russia, the term in Ukraine can refer to the blending of Ukrainian with any other language but still mainly refers to the mixing with Russian. Because these other forms of surzhyk exist on a dialect continuum, it is practically impossible to draw a boundary between standard Ukrainian, "Ukrainianized" Russian, and the various intermediate iterations of surzhyk.
Prevalence
thumb|350x350px|Prevalence of Surzhyk in the regions of Ukraine. Data by [[Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in 2003.]]
According to data presented by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in 2003, 11% to 18% of the people of Ukraine were found to communicate in Surzhyk. Specifically, in western Ukraine, Surzhyk is spoken by 2.5% of the population, while in the south, it is spoken by over 12.4% of the population. In the east, 9.6% of the population speaks Surzhyk. As Western Ukraine has a higher ratio of Ukrainian speakers to Russian speakers than the rest of Ukraine, the lesser proportion of Surzhyk speakers compared with the east and south is understandable.
In 1721, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great prohibited the publication of books in Ukraine, except for Russian-language religious works, and decreed that Ukrainian books and records were to be burned. In 1786, it was decreed that services in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were to be conducted using only the Russian pronunciation of Old Church Slavonic, and not the Ukrainian pronunciation. Decrees in 1863, 1876, and 1881 prohibited the publication and importation of Ukrainian books, as well as the public use of the Ukrainian language in general. The Russian regime of the day viewed the use of Ukrainian as evidence of political opposition and harshly suppressed it. Ukrainian peasants moving to the cities regarded Russian as being more urban and prestigious than their own language. However, because their schooling in the Russian language was inadequate, most Ukrainian peasants who strove to speak it ended up blending it with their native Ukrainian; this was how Surzhyk was born.
The speaking of pure Ukrainian (i.e. a language without elements of Russian) was for the most part avoided by the urban intelligentsia, because the Ukrainian language was associated with provincialism and nationalism.
The use of the Ukrainian language in theatre and music was also banned, and it had to be translated into other languages. Education in the Ukrainian language also suffered similarly, with ethnically Ukrainian teachers being replaced with ethnic Russians. In the early 20th century, children were punished for speaking Ukrainian to one another in school, and people sometimes lost their jobs for speaking it.
Soviet era
In the 1920s, after Ukraine became a part of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian language saw a revival under the Soviet policy of korenizatsiya (nativisation), which supported the development of non-Russian languages. The purpose was to gain the support of those ethnic groups that had been oppressed by the Tsarist regime. Soviet government business in Ukraine was conducted in the Ukrainian language, with the aim of integrating the Ukrainian people into the new Soviet system. This Ukrainisation brought with it a significant advance in the development, standardisation, and codification of the Ukrainian language. Accompanying it was an increase in the number of Ukrainian-language publications, as well as theatre productions and schools in which Ukrainian was used., but it remained overwhelmingly the main language of education. Along with many of the other languages spoken in the Soviet Union, Ukrainian was viewed as a challenge to centralised power and the linguistic unification of the Soviet people. Terminology and wording similar or identical to Russian were emphasized in dictionaries, grammar books, and the official guidance issued to editors and publishers. This resulted in a generally more Russianised Ukrainian than had existed prior to the Soviet Union. After Ukraine became independent, this outcome would eventually generate disagreement regarding the question of what constitutes pure Ukrainian.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Pre-Soviet forms
! Late Soviet forms
! Standard Russian
! English translation
|-
| Колишній<br/>(Kolyshniy)
| Бувший<br/>(Buvshyy)
| Бывший<br/>(Byvshiy)
| Former
|-
| Прибутки<br/>(Prybutky)
| Доходи<br/>(Dokhody)
| Доходы<br/>(Dokhody)
| Revenues
|-
| Відтак, відтоді<br/>(Vidtak, vidtodi)
| З тих пір<br/>(Z tykh pir)
| С тех пор<br/>(S tyekh por)
| Since then
|}
Members of the cultural elite who promoted local languages were later purged from positions of authority during the reign of Stalin, as part of an effort to strengthen the cohesion of the Soviet Union and promote Russian as the official language of the Soviet Union.
Linguists began to engage in debates over the 'correct' way to speak Ukrainian, because the Soviet language policies had had a profound effect on the Ukrainian language. On the one hand, some linguists argue that Ukrainian should only use the forms that existed prior to the Soviet Union, while others argue that the current forms, which emerged from the Soviet language policy, are more up-to-date and more familiar to the Ukrainians of today, and would therefore be better at meeting contemporary needs.
Examples
Grammar
thumb|An example of written surzhyk on a grave inscription in [[Pervomaisk Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (features influenced by Russian in bold):<br/>Так рано ти покинув нас<br/>І радость і счастя забрав ти<br/>з собою. Прости дорогий<br/>і любимий ти наш, що не смогли<br/>ми тебе вберегти і бути з тобою.<br/>З глубокою грустью, мама, папа, жінка, син, дочка, сестра і бабка.]]
False friends
Between Russian and Ukrainian languages there are many words known as interpreter's false friends.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Ukrainian
! Semantics in English
! Russian
! Semantics in English
|-
| ласкавий<br/>(laskavyi)
| kind, good
| ласковый<br/>(laskovyi)
| tender, gentle
|-
| господа<br/>(hospoda)
| dwelling
| господа<br/>(gospoda)
| gentlemen, sirs
|-
| красний
(krasnyi)
| beautiful
| красный
(krasnyi)
| red
|-
| дитина<br/>(dytyna)
| infant
| детина<br/>(detina)
| enormous person (stalwart lad)
|-
| час<br/>(chas)
| time
| час<br/>(chas)
| hour
|-
| чоловік<br/>(cholovik)
| man, male person, husband
| человек<br/>(chelovek)
| person, human
|-
| гарбуз<br/>(harbuz)
| pumpkin
| арбуз<br/>(arbuz)
| watermelon
|-
| краватка<br/>(kravatka)
| tie
| кроватка<br/>(krovatka)
| little bed
|-
| качка<br/>(kachka)
| duck
| качка<br/>(kachka)
| rocking motion
|-
| мир<br/>(myr)
| peace (only)
| мир<br/>(mir)
| the world; peace
|-
| світ<br/>(svit)
| the world
| свет<br/>(svet)
| light (also 'the world', chiefly in set expressions)
|-
| корисний<br/>(korysnyi)
| useful
| корыстный<br/>(korystnyi)
| selfish
|-
|вродливий
(vrodlyvyi)
|beautiful, handsome
|уродливый
(urodlivyy)
|ugly, hideous
|-
|неділя
(nedilya)
|Sunday
|неделя
(nedelya)
|week
|}
Ethnopolitical issues
thumb|An anti-surzhyk poster in Lviv public transport (2007)
In Soviet times, the usage of Ukrainian gradually decreased, particularly during those times when the Russification policies intensified (i.e. in the 1930s and during the late 1970s to early 1980s), and so a sizable portion of ethnic Ukrainians possess a better knowledge of formal Russian than of formal Ukrainian. Since 1991, however, Ukrainian has been the sole official language. After this change, it was realised that much of the population of Ukraine was actually unable to speak Ukrainian fluently. This was highly apparent in the case of many Ukrainian officials (including the President of Ukraine), who were observed to make code-mixing mistakes in their speech.
The prevalence of Surzhyk is greatest in the countryside. In the cities, people tend to speak more standard forms of Ukrainian or Russian. This contrasts with the more rural inhabitants, who lack the prestige associated with the educational and technological advantages that people in the cities have. However, in spite of the differences that exist between the rural and urban varieties of the spoken language, many visitors find that they have trouble communicating with the local population of Ukraine when they follow guidebooks published abroad. This is because these books tend to focus on either pure Russian or pure Ukrainian and disregard the hybrid form.