Filimonchuk Lesia

Formation of the Ukrainian printed word in the Habsburg Empire

Section: Ukraine and Austria: science, education, and culture in the modern information space

Abstract: The purpose of the article is to investigate the features of the emergence and development of Ukrainian printed publications, both books and periodicals, which were published in Western Ukrainian lands in the 19th century, to outline their role in the socio-political processes of that time and to highlight their influence on the further cultural and linguistic development of the Ukrainian nation. Considerable attention is paid to highlighting the evolution of the Ukrainian language on the pages of printed publications of the 19th century. The research methodology is based on systemic and structural approaches, scientific objectivity, methods of logical and structural-functional analysis. General scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and special methods (comparative, structural-component), which are based on the principles of complexity, historicism and scientific objectivity, were used. Scientific novelty. Studies of historical sources of Western Ukrainian lands of the 19th century open new perspectives on the complex processes of formation and development of the Ukrainian language and printed word, arouse significant research interest in the political aspect of the language problem and the influence of printed publications on the course of linguistic and political processes. Conclusions. Socio-political processes in Western Ukrainian lands, the development of public education, culture, the processes of formation and development of the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian printed word are interrelated. The spread of the Ukrainian printed word in particular contributed to the processes of linguistic development and the growth of the linguistic culture of the Ukrainian ethnic group. It is worth noting that in Austria-Hungary the Ukrainian language received considerable opportunities for free development already in the 19th century. and especially in its last third – when in Russia it still retained the current restrictions of its prohibition by decree of 1876. The intellectuals of that time were concerned with the issue of linguistic and national identity of Ukrainians (or as they were then called "Rusyns"). The first scientist who scientifically substantiated the independence of the Ukrainian (Rusyn) language against Polish, Russian and Church Slavonic was Ivan Mogilnytskyi. Already in the first half of the 19th century. he published the first Ukrainian grammar in Galicia, which was written in a language that theauthor himself called "Rusyn", that is, "Galician-Ukrainian". The preface to it contains the first scientific investigation into the place of the Ukrainian language among Slavic languages. Starting from the 1830s, Galician authors Y. Levytskyi, I. Vahylevych, Y. Lozynskyi create several "Rusyn" grammars. At the same time, the first collections of folk songs, poetry and prose in the folk language are published, even scientific investigations are published in almanacs, while in sub-Russian Ukraine only fiction was written in Ukrainian. An important documentary source of information about the national revival and liberation movement of the Ukrainian people in the territories of the Habsburg Empireare Ukrainian magazines of the 19th century. The processes of formation and development of Ukrainian periodicals of the 19th century are reviewed, their professional and political differentiation, and their influence on the formation of the national consciousness of Ukrainians in the crown lands of the Habsburg Empire are considered. Ukrainian press publications of the 19th century. played an important role in the formation of the social and national consciousness of Ukrainians in the territories of the Habsburg monarchy.

Keywords: Austria-Hungary, I. Mogilnytskyi, Galician grammarians, Ukrainian press publications, "Rusalka Dniestrova", "Zorya Galitska", "Prosvita".

  Full-text PDF    https://doi.org/10.15407/bv2025.02.081     Citation

• Filimonchuk Lesia (V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Ukraine, Kyiv, [email protected]) ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9436-4308

Cite:
Filimonchuk Lesia (2025). Formation of the Ukrainian printed word in the Habsburg Empire. Bibliotechnyi visnyk, (2) 81-86. (In Ukrainan). doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/bv2025.02.081

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