myr vs. mir (in 18th c. Ukrainian literature)

[Natalia Pylypiuk]

>Thank you for your very comprehensive answer. Does all this then mean, that
>the Russian language has (had) a word for peace, and a different word for
>world, society; and that all nice efforts to find a philosophical reason why
>the Russian language has one word, that means peace as well as world, are
>meaningless?
>Kind regards,
>Nikolaus

>>2) am I right, that it has been retained in Ukrainian?
>It is retained in Ukrainian for the /i/ phoneme, while the "i
>vos'merichnoe" designates the /y/ phoneme.
>>3) How can it be explained, that such an important difference between both
>>languages has developed apparently during the Soviet era, of all eras?
>While in the pre-reform Russian orthography both 'i's designated the same
>phoneme - /i/, in Ukrainian they designate different phonemes, and this
>difference in practice antedates Soviet times by at least a century, and
>actually much longer.
>Dr. Andrij Hornjatkevyc


The Ukrainian philosopher Hryhorij Skovoroda (1722-1794) clearly distiguished
between "peace" -- MYR (with "i vos'merichnoe") and
"world" -- MIR (with "i desjaterichnoe").  (Soviet editors in the 1970s did not
respect his orthographic practice.)  For a discussion of Skovoroda's views, see
George L. Kline, "Skovoroda's Metaphysics," in Richard H. Marshall, Jr.,
and Thomas E. Bird, eds., *Hryhorij Savyc(hachek) Skovoroda. An Anthology
of Critical Essays* (CIUS: Edmonton, Toronto, 1994), esp. p. 231 and n. 20.

Natalia Pylypiuk

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