The Concept of “Ukraine” through the Lens of the Linguophilosophy of the Sixtiers

Abstract

A relevant trend in contemporary linguistic research is the study of the linguistic dimension of a text as a means of verbalizing the value priorities of speakers, leading to generalizations about a nation’s worldview. Such investigations are carried out within the framework of linguophilosophical studies and are particularly insightful when based on poetic texts from a specific historical period, since they represent an emotional reflection of events and allow us to reconstruct the worldview of a given generation.

A powerful stage in the self-awareness of Ukrainians as a nation was the Sixtiers era. During this time, there was an active process of rethinking national history, attitudes toward Ukraine, and the perception of the self within the global context. These tendencies are vividly reflected in the poetic language of the representatives of that epoch, especially in their interpretation of the key concepts of the Ukrainian linguistic worldview.

The aim of this study is to examine the semantics and linguistic representation of the concept Ukraine/Homeland in the poetry of the Sixtiers.

A wide range of nominations representing this concept has been identified. Among the main semantic vectors of its constituent images are: love for Ukraine, patriotism; admiration for nature; Ukraine as an immortal and eternal land; struggle for independence; romanticization of Ukrainian history; criticism of the nation’s passivity; horrors of totalitarian Ukrainian reality; faith in a happy future ets.

Among the specific features of the image of the Homeland in Sixtier poetry are: a strong intimate tone (realized through the image of Ukraine as a beloved woman); personification through feminine images such as Mother-Ukraine, Woman-Ukraine, Girl-Ukraine; a high degree of tragicism in the depiction of the Homeland by dissident poets; semantic oppositions within the image (executioner and victim, paradise and hell); and self-identification through the opposition “one’s own – alien.”

A linguophilosophical analysis of the concept Ukraine/Homeland based on the poetic discourse of the Sixtiers has made it possible to reveal the key worldview tendencies of the representatives of this crucial period in the formation of Ukrainian identity.