Trasyanka and surzhik

[curt fredric woolhiser]

Dear Elena,

Although Belarusian-Russian "trasianka" and Ukrainian-Russian
"surzhyk" have been around for quite some time, it's only in the last
decade that Slavists have begun to give serious attention to their
structural and sociolinguistic aspects. As regards "trasianka," I
would recommend an article by Hienadz' Cychun (Tsykhun) entitled
"'Trasianka' jak abjekt linhvistyc^naha dasledavannia,' in L. I.
Siamies^ka and M. P. Pryhodzic^ (eds.), _Bielaruskaja mova u druhoj
palovie XX stahoddzia_ (Minsk: Bielaruski dziarz^auny univiersitet,
1998), pp. 83-89. Dr. Cychun is also preparing another article on
this topic, "Mixed Forms of Speech on a Belarusian Base," for an
upcoming special issue of the _International Journal of the Sociology
of Language_ devoted to Belarusian sociolinguistics (co-edited by
yours truly and Dr. Siarhiej Zaprudski, Belarusian State University).
For more on the problem of classifying different language varieties
spoken in contemporary Belarus, you might also want to consult
Veranika Kurcova's article "Ruskamounaje maulennie bielarusau: da
pytannia jaho kvalifikacyjnych acenak" (AATSEEL Newsletter, vol. 46
(2), April 2003; continuation to be published in October 2003 AATSEEL
Newsletter). For a discussion of the ideological loading of
"trasianka" in Belarusian oppositional discourse, I would recommend
my "Language Ideology and Language Conflict in Post-Soviet Belarus",
in Camille C. O'Reilly (ed.) _Language, Ethnicity and The State.
Volume 2: Minority Languages in Eastern Europe Post-1989_ (London:
Palgrave, 2001).
        Ukrainian-Russian "surzhyk" has also been the subject of a
number of recent publications, most notably Michael Flier, "Surzhyk:
the Rules of Engagement," in Zvi Gitelman et al. (eds.), _Cultures
and Nations of Central and Eastern Europe: Essays in Honor of Roman
Szporluk_ (Harvard Ukrainian Studies, number 22.), Cambridge, MA,
2000; and Laada Bilaniuk, "Speaking of Surzhyk: Ideologies and Mixed
Languages," _Harvard Ukrainian Studies_, Vol. XXI, Number 1/2, June
1997.

Best regards,

Curt Woolhiser


Work address until July 15, 2003:
========================================
Department of Slavic Languages
and Literatures
Calhoun 415
University of Texas
Austin, TX 78713-7217 USA

Tel. (512) 232-9133, (512) 471-3607
Fax: (512) 471-6710
Email: cfwoolhiser at mail.utexas.edu
Slavic Department Home Page:
http://www.dla.utexas.edu/depts/slavic/
========================================

Work address after July 15, 2003:
========================================
Department of Slavic Languages
and Literatures
Barker Center 374
12 Quincy Street
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

Phone: (617) 495-4065
Fax: (617) 496-4466
Email: slavic at fas.harvard.edu
Slavic Department Home Page:
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~slavic/
========================================



>Dear colleagues,
>
>my question is about the phenomenon which is called trasyanka in Belarus and
>surzhik in Ukraine and is usually described (very simplistically) as "a
>mixture of two languages, Russian and Belarusian (Ukrainian)" allegedly
>resulting from locals (villagers) trying to speak Russian, as they move into
>citites, and finishing with trasyanka instead of a literary standard
>language (the social process is more interesting and complicated, of
>course). There are other interpretations, too.
>
>Does anyone know if anyhting has been published on the phenomenon?
>
>Elena Gapova
>
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