The Journal of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series “Philology”

Hryhorii Kvitka and Literature for Peasants

2026-06-04T22:36:08+00:00

The creative activity of H. Kvitka is marked by special attention to Ukrainian folk life. It is not surprising that he was interested in the idea of writing a special book specifically for folk education.

The purpose of the article is to reveal the idea of this book and to understand the practical implementation of the author's instructive thoughts.

The writer did not come to the creation of such a book immediately. This decision was preceded by public activity, in particular in the educational sphere. Confidence was added by the favorable reviews of readers for his sentimental works on folk life. The acquired public experience, and especially literary successes, inspired H. Kvitka to a risky literary and at the same time educational experiment. At first, he planned not one work, but a whole series of books for the people. At the same time, he carefully thought out all the details of the new project. In a special announcement, he published an analysis of the reading capabilities of the desired target group. This analysis proved that peasants usually come across works that are not very useful from an educational point of view and are not very clear in language and presentation (“in bookish style”). The author’s experiment was aimed at taking into account and correcting the shortcomings: his book is written in Ukrainian, the instruction is presented taking into account the receptive capabilities of the popular audience – as a stylized oral address to the peasant community. The presentation of thoughts sometimes resembles a sermon: sometimes it refers to the evangelical context, sometimes it is full of instructive examples from life.

The series of books planned by the author was actually limited to one edition. This fact suggests that the reaction of readers could have disappointed the author, which is why he decided to reconsider his previous plan. The question of why this book did not bring the expected success and how the writer’s experience affected subsequent literature for public education may be the subject of a separate study.

The Poetics of Catastrophism in Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights

2026-06-04T22:36:00+00:00

The article is devoted to the analysis of the poetics of catastrophism in Olga Tokarczuk’s novel «Flights». The study examines the semantic shift of the literary concept of catastrophe in the context of a globalized world, where it acquires an anthropogenic character and also emerges as a narrative structure that organizes the literary text. The theoretical framework is based on concepts of catastrophism developed in contemporary humanities, in particular the idea of a shift from an “explosive” model of the apocalypse to an entropic one associated with gradual decline and disintegration. The article argues that Tokarczuk’s novel gravitates precisely toward an entropic type of catastrophism, which is realized on different levels of the text. The fragmentary composition, the absence of a unified plot, and the nonlinear organization of reading reflect the internal entropy of the fictional world. At the same time, a tension between chaos and the impulse toward structuring becomes evident, manifested in motifs of cataloguing, cartography, museum collection, and plastination. These attempts at ordering do not overcome chaos but instead emphasize its fundamental inevitability. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of the mythologeme of water, which in the novel acquires an eschatological dimension associated with the threat of global catastrophe. Water functions as a metaphor for the erasure of differences and the blurring of semantic boundaries. The study also traces the functioning of apocalyptic motifs, ranging from religious representations of the Last Judgment to secular images of technological and psychological catastrophes. In conclusion, the article substantiates the thesis that catastrophism constitutes an aesthetic dominant of the novel, shaping its poetics, thematic organization, and philosophical dimension. The text constructs a world in which structure and chaos are in constant interaction, while the human being appears simultaneously as both the subject and the victim of global catastrophic processes.

The Phenomenon of Game in Literature: Theoretical Approaches and Aesthetic Aspects

2026-06-04T22:35:53+00:00

The phenomenon of game as an interdisciplinary concept is gaining increasing relevance in the humanities, particularly in literary studies. Contemporary literature actively employs game strategies that expand the boundaries of artistic thinking and text interpretation. Despite growing attention to this issue, the specificity of play manifestation within the structure of a literary work remains insufficiently investigated. This determines the need for a comprehensive understanding of game as a universal form of creativity capable of integrating philosophical, aesthetic, and cultural dimensions.

The purpose of the article is to investigate the phenomenon of game as an aesthetic category and a mode of artistic thinking in literature, particularly to identify its forms, functions, and types in the context of the development of the art of writing.

To achieve this goal, comparative and descriptive methods were applied, which made it possible to trace the evolution of game forms in literature, define their structural and semantic features, and outline the interaction between author and reader within the framework of game communication.

The study reveals that game in literature is a multi-level model of artistic thinking encompassing both the form and the content of a work. Two main types of game are distinguished: 1) game that imitates serious activity (the realistic, mimetic type), and 2) game as a goal of itself, realized through metafiction that blurs the traditional boundaries between fiction and reality. The investigation shows that literary game serves as an instrument of creative freedom, a form of authorial self-irony, and a means of involving the reader in co-creation.

Game is a universal category that enables the artistic process to be comprehended as a dynamic and creative interaction between the author, the text and the reader. Literary game contributes to the renewal of forms and meanings, ensures the dialogic nature of art, and emphasizes its openness to multiple interpretations. It functions not only as a means of artistic expression but also as a way of understanding the world and achieving artistic self-realization.

The article systematizes the principal approaches to the interpretation of the phenomenon of game in literary studies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, outlines the typological models of ludic strategies, and identifies the main trends in contemporary research.

May Sinclair and suffragism: biographical materials on the writer

2026-06-04T22:35:45+00:00

The article examines the biography, intellectual views, and public activity of the English writer, literary critic, and philosopher May Sinclair in the context of the British suffrage movement of the early twentieth century. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that Ukrainian historiography and literary study still contain a noticeable gap in research on the role of individual representatives of the British women’s movement who combined literary creativity with civic and educational activities. Despite her significant contribution to the intellectual environment of the feminist movement, the figure of May Sinclair remains insufficiently studied, particularly regarding her participation in organisations that supported the struggle for women’s suffrage.

The aim of the article is to clarify the main biographical features and worldview foundations of May Sinclair in the context of ideas of gender equality and to determine her role in the social and political life of Great Britain through an analysis of her involvement in the suffrage movement.

The research employs general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, and generalisation, as well as special historical methods, including the biographical method, historical-cultural approach, and critical analysis of sources. The use of a gender approach made it possible to examine the writer’s activities through the prism of the formation and transformation of gender perceptions in British society at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The article analyses the life circumstances that influenced the shaping of May Sinclair’s feminist views and reveals her participation in the activities of suffrage organisations, in particular the Women’s Freedom League and the Women Writers’ Suffrage League. It is shown that the writer took part in public campaigns supporting women’s suffrage, published journalistic texts defending the ideas of gender equality, and actively engaged in polemics with opponents of women’s emancipation.

The study concludes that May Sinclair occupied a notable place in the intellectual environment of the British suffrage movement. Her literary works, publicistic writings, and civic engagement contributed to the dissemination of ideas of gender equality and to the shaping of public support for women’s struggle for political rights.

Thanatological Motifs in Doris Lessing`s Lyrico-Epic Works («A Seam of White Crystals» and «As If They Had Always Known It»)

2026-06-04T22:35:38+00:00

The lyrico-epic cycle «The Wolf People» (2002) by the contemporary English writer D. Lessing chronologically divides the writing of her prose dilogy «Mara and Dann» (1999–2005). The collection serves as a thematic continuation of its first part and a prologue to the second; that is, it acts as a kind of bridge uniting the two parts of the dilogy. Through a contextual analysis of D. Lessing`s ballads «A Seam of White Crystals» and «As If They Had Always Known It» from the collection «The Wolf People», motifs resonant with the writer's prose works have been identified: the dilogy «Mara and Dann» and the novel «Alfred and Emily» (2008). A common thematic focus, underlying issues, and motifs (motifs of catastrophic death, lost origins and memory, the search for a safe space, and the motif of the dream) are determined across these works by the author.

Lessing artistically explores the origins and consequences of the catastrophe experienced by humanity in a post-apocalyptic future world. The author crafts an image of a primeval world wherein humans strive to find their place and attempt, by any means, to withstand the lethal forces of nature. In the ballads «A Seam of White Crystals» and «As If They Had Always Known It», the thanatological motif emerges as a constant component of the eschatological myth. The motif of catastrophic death is initially connoted by the characters' premonition of disaster in the ballad «As If They Had Always Known It» (the semantics of the title reveal a sacred incantation-warning to descendants). The protagonist of the dilogy «Mara and Dann» is also the keeper of sacred knowledge regarding the tragic past of the continent of Ifrik. In the autofictional novel «Alfred and Emily», the destruction of the «family» tree with the authentic name Mawonga, which embodied the family's life cycle, symbolizes the dismantling of ontological origins.

The raised motif varies: in the ballad «As If They Had Always Known It», it resonates as a premonition of disaster; in the lyrico-epic text «A Seam of White Crystals», the motif of catastrophic death gradually intensifies (the terror of death grips all community members); and subsequently, this motif scales up in the ballad «The Ice Comes» to a universal eschatology (a natural disaster emerges as a threat to all of humanity). The eschatological myth regarding a catastrophic end is nuanced and scaled across D. Lessing`s works: whereas in the dilogy and the ballads «A Seam of White Crystals» and «As If They Had Always Known It», the insurmountable force is an impersonal force of nature, in the novel «Alfred and Emily» it is the world wars, which are the consequences of civilization's destructive impact. This novel by D. Lessing serves as a postmodern reception of the myth surrounding the First World War.

The motif of catastrophic death in the ballads and the aforementioned prose works is linked to the motif of lost origins. The destruction of the «center» of the family space («Alfred and Emily») occurs not only physically but also mentally; thus, the problem of the loss of personal memory manifests, which subsequently scales up into the motif of the loss of the community's collective memory. The thanatological motifs presented in these ballads and prose works are embodied through mythological oppositions: «life – death», «ice – sun», «day – night», «light – darkness», «omniscience – blindness», which also affects the characterization of the artistic space: «native – alien», «closed – open».

The individual and collective memories of the lyrical subjects in the ballads «A Seam of White Crystals» and «As If They Had Always Known It» emerge as the sole source of historical memory, which parallels the process of their self-identification. In the novel «Alfred and Emily», D. Lessing reveals the traumatic nature of war for humanity. The space of childhood in the protagonist's memories is not safe; it is permeated with the parental experience marked by war.

Light through the Prism of Rhythm and Movement in Ihor Kalynets’s Triptych “The Sawmillers”

2026-06-04T22:35:31+00:00

Ihor Kalynets’s triptych “The Sawmillers” from the collection “Letters to Zvenyslava from Prison” emerged as a result of observing the paintings of the Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Bohomazov—a talented painter, graphic artist, pedagogue, and author of the treatise “Painting and Elements.” The triptych demonstrates a broad intermedial synthesis of lyric poetry, painting, music, and theatre. The first part, which could be titled “Light,” passionately conveys the coloristic qualities of the paintings; almost every line contains painterly markers. The oversaturation of the free verse with color is intended to reveal the stylistic features of the canvases that arose from a synthesis of Cubo-Futurism and spectralism. The first poem rests on three contrapuntal motifs: liberation (“the hot wood is being set free”), the “purification of people and wood,” and the transformation of the body into light. It seems that the poet, in his interpretation, goes further than the painter, since what is at stake is a spiritual process with its distinct stages.

The key concept of the second part of the triptych is rhythm. Can rhythm exist in painting? Oleksandr Bohomazov, one of the foremost theorists of the global avant-garde, answers this question in his treatise “Painting and Elements” (1914, 1928): for the artist, rhythm is both a qualitative and a quantitative category; even a static object has its own rhythm. Kalynets teaches how to translate the language of painting into the language of music. The construction of a house from “singing” planks sawn by workers, thanks to intermedial relations, is transformed into a sacred action, for the transformation of light in the first part and rhythm along with other musical components in the second give birth to something fundamentally new—an articulated, “living,” “energetic,” luminous home.

In the third free-verse poem, Kalynets, writing from a labor camp and circumventing censorship restrictions, takes the bold step of returning the famed Berezil theatre, the Christmas nativity play (vertep), and Mykola Kulish’s tragedy “Pathetic Sonata” to Ukrainian cultural discourse through the category of movement. The point is that this category became dominant at approximately the same time both in the activities of the Berezil theatre and in Bohomazov’s work. What is meant here is rhythm as a principle of the Universe.

As artists, Ihor Kalynets and Oleksandr Bohomazov share much in common. Interpreting Bohomazov’s paintings, Kalynets “charges” his free-verse lines with positive thinking and the conviction that Light is stronger than darkness.

Fairytale therapy by Iryna Stasiv-Kalynets

2026-06-04T22:35:24+00:00

The article examines the fairy tales of Iryna Stasiv-Kalynets as unique works of resistance, restoration and tempering of the essence of the writer and recipients, which led to the interpretation of artistic works by artistic fairy tale therapy. The study of images, symbolic details, issues and themes of the stories proves the interconnections of the original plots of the dissident with the modern direction of psychotherapy, especially in conditions of martial law. In the current uncertainty, neglect of the main humane values, total aggression and cruelty, it is fairy tales that become the support of humanity, helping to understand oneself and be steadfast in adhering to eternal priorities – life, goodness, love.

Having studied the author's fairy tales, it is worth highlighting the formal and content features of artistic texts. Laconicism, variation in the tempo of presentation, poetic inserts, preservation of the established artistic organization and structure of the chosen genre partly determine the content with a unique content. The stories feature fictional and real characters, but the constant location of the vicissitudes is Ukraine, as evidenced by authentic names, folklore and historical inclusions, and a political subtext addressed to an adult recipient. The difference between a child's and an adult's worldview is highlighted in the loss of the ability to feel and fantasize, the violation of parity between nature and man, the confrontation of egocentrism and humanity. The struggle takes place on the internal and external levels. Victory depends primarily on the individual himself or on the unity of like-minded people. But there is no final solution to the problem, since the dichotomy of good and evil remains, testing the spiritual temper of everyone. The protection of nature and love-warmth means self-identification, defeat in introspection causes impersonality.

So, the dominant theme of Iryna Stasiv-Kalynets' fairy tales and fairy tale therapy is faith – in oneself, in miracles, in one's surroundings, whose constant companion is freedom – emotions, thoughts, words, actions that define not only an individual person, but also a community, a state, and humanity as a whole.

La Belle Époque in the mirror of young adult fantasy (Emily J. Taylor’s novel Hotel Magnifique)

2026-06-04T22:35:16+00:00

This article explores the artistic world and poetics of the debut fantasy novel Hotel Magnifique by American writer Emily J. Taylor. The relevance of the study is determined the contemporary interest of literary studies in various modifications of fantasy literature, as well as the insufficient exploration of the features of modern fantasy, particularly the works of E. J. Taylor.

The aim of the research is to identify the specific ways in which the features and atmosphere of La Belle Époque (the “Beautiful Era” at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries) are represented in the novel Hotel Magnifique, and to clarify the interaction between standard elements of young adult fantasy and an original cultural and historical setting.

The novel Hotel Magnifique reveals the key characteristics of young adult fantasy: a magical world of adventure and enchantment, mysteries, quests, unexpected plot twists, the coming-of-age of a teenage heroine who faces challenges and finds the courage to overcome them, as well as a romantic storyline. The author combines elements of classical, mystical, romantic and dark fantasy.

The features of La Belle Époque are reflected in the characters’ personalities and appearances, in the artistic space and material world, in the specifics of magic and enchantment, and also on the intertextual level. The luxurious traveling hotel with maritime motifs embodies an important trend of the Art Nouveau era – the rapid growth of cruise tourism. The elegance and decorative richness of the interiors, the spectacularity, and the atmosphere of pleasure, entertainment, and festivity conceal an underlying anxiety and dramatic tension characteristic of the fin de siècle.

The main advantage of the novel lies in the combination of typical features of young adult fantasy with a unique atmosphere and interiors inspired by the Art Nouveau period. At the intersection of these spheres, the characters, plot developments, material details, and overall atmosphere seem to double and shimmer with a dual light. In the magical story of the existence and transformations of the mysterious hotel, the traits of La Belle Époque are reflected, and certain genre clichés acquire additional meaning.

Dynamics of Gender Stereotypes in the Ukrainian Linguistic Worldview

2026-06-04T22:35:09+00:00

The article analyzes the dynamics of gender stereotypes in the Ukrainian linguistic worldview. The aim of the study is to identify the peculiarities of the perception and reproduction of gender stereotypes in Ukrainian linguistic worldview. In particular, it aims to find out which gender stereotypes are fixed in Ukrainian paremias and, through an experimental survey, compare them with modern Ukrainians’ ideas regarding the stereotypical perception of men and women.

The analysis of Ukrainian proverbs and sayings shows that traditional images of women and men are deeply rooted. The female image in paremias is mostly limited to the domestic sphere (hearth mother, housewife), where diligence is the main indicator of value, while psychological stereotypes emphasize emotionality, talkativeness, and inconstancy. The image of a man is represented through the roles of the breadwinner, a strong and financially responsible person, although some contexts record the possibility of female influence. Marriage in paremias is often interpreted as a union with a clear division of roles, where the man is the ‘head’ and the woman is the ‘soul’.

An experimental study conducted in 2025 made it possible to trace the transformation of these ideas in modern linguistic consciousness. The survey results confirmed the persistence of traditional stereotypes, such as the emotionality of women and their role of a housewife, alongside the strength of men and their role in supporting the family. However, the study also new prescriptive attitudes. Modern stereotypes include prejudices regarding women’s ability to drive a car, mandatory nature of motherhood, and idealization of appearance. Regarding men, modern stereotypes impose prohibitions on the expression of emotions (‘men don't cry’) and limit the choice of activities that fall outside traditional masculinity, such as painting nails or playing with dolls.

Grammatical binomials usage as an author's individual style

2026-06-04T22:35:01+00:00

This article is devoted to investigate the impact of specific linguistic units usage such as grammatical binomials on individual author’s style. The individual author’s style is observed as a writer’s unique signature, manifested in the selective and distinctive combination of linguistic meanings used to achieve poetic goals. The study emphasizes that author’s style is formed during the process of text creation as non-standard models and a striving for the individualization of expression. Particular attention is paid to the category of subjective modality, which permeates the entire textual space and is the main component of the author’s world picture. Modality, in combination with linguistic meanings, becomes a way of expressing the author’s intellectual and emotional reproduction of the worldview. An analysis of subjective modality allows us to identify the author’s favorite techniques and the methods of the formation of modal meanings. The central object of analysis is that the grammatical binomials are consisting of two words of the same part of speech in the same morphological form. The article proposes a stylistic typology of binomials, which includes linguistic, discursive, idiostylistic and contextual-authorial types. Using the works of Hanna Cherin and Boris Oleksandriv, the article demonstrates how these units create a specific rhythm, emotional tension and complex artistic descriptions. Attention also focused on the semantic interaction of the components of the binomial, which create new meanings. The methodological approach is based on a combination of linguistic-stylistic analysis and elements of corpus analysis. It is concluded that grammatical binomials are an effective tool for emphasizing meanings and intensifying the expressive impact on the reader.

The parts-of-speech classification of borrowings from Hebrew in the speech of Ukrainians living in Israel

2026-06-04T22:34:54+00:00

The present article is dedicated to lexical borrowings from Hebrew and, in particular, to their parts-of-speech classification. To this end, the concept of the borrowability hierarchy is utilized. The research broadens the existing literature on language contact through the analysis of a language pair that has not yet been studied. The paper aims to construct and analyze a borrowability hierarchy specifically for elements of Hebrew origin that are present in the speech of Ukrainians currently residing in Israel. For this purpose, we have analyzed and summarized previous findings regarding borrowability hierarchies and the reasons that motivate them. Similarities and differences between hierarchies proposed in scientific literature have been identified, and a hypothesis about the expected look of the hierarchy in the case of Ukrainians living in Israel has been brought forward. A parts-of-speech classification of the borrowed elements in the speech of Ukrainians has been conducted, and a corresponding hierarchy of borrowability has been formulated. It has been discovered that the overwhelming majority of borrowed items belong to the category of nouns, while interjections are the second category in terms of the frequency of borrowing. We have highlighted a limited number of borrowed adjectives and adverbs, an almost total absence of borrowed verbs and pronouns, and a total absence of borrowings, which belong to other parts-of-speech. The abundance of borrowed nouns in conjunction with a very limited number of borrowed adjectives and verbs has been identified as the main distinctive feature of the hierarchy. We have concluded that the peculiarities of the borrowing hierarchy in the case of Ukrainians living in Israel are due to three major factors. These include the unique cultural landscape of Israel, the typological distance between Hebrew and Ukrainian, and the relatively short history of the Ukrainian-speaking community in Israel. While the first point explains the large number of nouns in our sample, the latter two shed light on the near-absence of borrowed elements belonging to other parts-of-speech.

Taxonomy of the Terminological System of Marketing Activities Based on Its Functional Characteristics

2026-06-04T22:34:46+00:00

The presence of terms in the general language is associated with the constant updating of electronic dictionaries, which help to quickly search for terms, taking into account morphological forms and the ability to find examples of their use for more accurate translation, training, or professional work. There is also a need to create terminological support for modern information management systems, banks, and databases, since, as is well known, terminology is a set of words related to a professional field of activity (technology, management, culture, etc.) that are interconnected at various levels: lexical-semantic, word-formation, and grammatical.

The influence of the functional component on its organisation indicates that language is a system of means of expression that exists and develops in speech.

The purpose of the article: since linguistic research shows that the principles of linguopragmatics, as a discipline that studies the purposeful use of language by humans, are not sufficient to ensure the study of the mechanisms of formation and functioning of marketing – a science and, at the same time, a practical activity that is developing in the modern conditions of international cooperation between specialists, we propose to combine them with elements of cognitive linguistics. Simultaneously, cognitive science, with the help of language, helps to obtain an adequate understanding of human consciousness and mind, and thus to understand how linguistic phenomena reflect and shape our thinking, memory, and perception of the world.

The results of the analysis of the corpus of factual material allow us to assess the significant functional load of marketing activity terms: they attract the attention of supermarket shoppers, readers of advertisements on public transport or in other public places, and online sellers interested in a quick sale with minimal linguistic expenditure due to their communicative richness.

Philosophy of life in Volodymyr Yermolenko’s novel The Ocean Catcher: The Story of Odysseus through the prism of opposition: stylistic and syntactic aspects

2026-06-04T22:34:39+00:00

Opposition is one of the defining stylistic and syntactic devices of narrative development in Volodymyr Yermolenko’s novel The Ocean Catcher: The Story of Odysseus. Contexts involving opposition in this work are characterized by philosophical depth and diverse structures; however, they have not yet been the subject of systematic study, which determines the relevance of their linguistic investigation. The purpose of this study is to identify the features of the verbalization of oppositions and their functions in the language of the novel. Opposition serves as a significant semantic and constructive element in the language of the analyzed work. The extremely active use of opposition is driven by the protagonist’s re-evaluation of the realities of life. A distinct triad emerges: re-evaluation – return – opposition as a component of revelation. Oppositional constructions, varying in structure and lexical content, convey the internal reflections of the characters, primarily Odysseus and his critical assessment of his own behavior and the actions of those around him. Quite often, antitheses are based on antonyms located either adjacently or distantly. In the text of the novel, opposition with the conjunction but (ale) is a frequent device for organizing not only compound sentences but also supra-phrasal units. The latter are sometimes linked by oppositions acting as a refrain. The author strengthens the text-forming weight of opposition through the use of separate paragraphs for supra-phrasal units, parceling, and punctuation highlighting. Oppositional semantics are further enhanced by syntactic parallelism, repetition, chiasmus, and refrains. Most often, contrast is combined with negation, which also constitutes a specific feature of the narrative in this novel. The author employs rhetorical devices to amplify antithetical thought. Multi-component oppositions are noted for their expressiveness. Antithesis frequently serves to create aphoristic statements within the language of the novel. Thus, constructions with opposition serve to create expressive micro-images of the literary work and act as components of its compositional organization.

Prompt engineering in scientific and technical literature translation using artificial intelligence tools

2026-06-04T22:34:31+00:00

The paper in question is devoted to the relevant issue of translation studies related to the translation quality, in particular the one that involves the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

The objective of the research is to determine the role of prompt engineering in increasing the accuracy and adequacy of scientific and technical literature translation using AI tools.

One of the universal AI systems, which allow you to influence the result obtained due to their flexibility, the OpenAI large language model ChatGPT is chosen for testing. The user's, in our case - a professional translator's, interaction with the generative AI model in question is organized by means of prompts. To optimize prompts, the developers offer guidelines that explain the essence of prompt engineering, the function of which is to improve queries that formulate tasks for the universal AI model.

The English-Ukrainian translation of scientific and technical literature using ChatGPT-5.3 has been tested. The analysis of the items translated by this AI model has helped us determine that creating a prompt requires more attention of the translator, since scientific and technical literature is a complex entity in terms of its lexical and grammatical features. It is the wise choice of the type of prompt accompanying the source language text that enables the translator to improve the quality of the translation done by the given AI model.

Our testing of the ChatGPT AI model to assess the possibility to enhance the translation quality by having the prompt optimized gives grounds to state that prompt engineering is gaining unique significance for translation studies, as it allows to compensate for the limitations of universal AI systems in reproducing the peculiar characteristics of the scientific and technical text during translation, in particular, maintaining consistency of the terminology rendered, as well as taking into account the meaning of syntactic constructions of the source language for their adequate representation in the target language.

Further research is planned to study the peculiarities of integrating the highlighted topic into the course “Theory and Practice of Translation” for higher education students of the relevant specialization.

«Сulture of speech» as a strategic important discipline in the modern educational process

2026-06-04T22:34:24+00:00

The views of O. O. Potebnia on the complex of issues related to language, nationality, and denationalization are highly consonant with the contemporary sociopolitical situation. We turn to this same set of problems at a critical turning point of the present day: in conditions where, on the one hand, active nation-building and a return to the origins of the Ukrainian language and culture are taking place, and on the other hand, linguistic and behavioral schizophrenia – still characteristic of certain segments of society – along with a decline in the level of communication in Ukrainian (compared to 2022).

The aim of the article is to draw public attention to Speech Culture as a strategically important discipline in the formation of a «Ukrainian-studies worldview».

Its universal nature is caused by the fact that it lies at the intersection of many linguistic and non-linguistic sciences, as well as key anthropocentric concepts – «language», «culture», and «human being». This provides unique opportunities for raising and discussing important cultural, linguistic, sociological, and sociopolitical concepts that influence the formation of personality, as well as linguistic and national identity. The social potential of Speech Culture is also determined by its capacity to shape a philosophy of co-existence, improve the ecology of communication, and establish effective interaction.

In this regard, we arrive at the conclusion about the strategic importance and commitment to teaching speech culture in all educational institutions of the state, from kindergartens to higher education institutions, regardless of the field of education. Necessity of a nationwide, omnipresent state program designed to develop a strategy for forming speech culture with the focus on value-oriented and activity-based approaches, with a gradual increase in the complexity of information in accordance with a person’s age characteristics.

Cognitive Mechanisms of Secondary Nomination (in the Context of O. O. Potebnia’s Work “On the Connection of Certain Representations in Language”)

2026-06-04T22:34:16+00:00

The article explores the cognitive mechanisms underlying secondary nomination in Slavic languages, drawing on the theoretical framework proposed by O. O. Potebnia in his work “On the Connection of Certain Representations in Language.” The relevance of the study lies in the need to deepen the understanding of semantic development processes and to reveal the internal motivation of so-called etymologically “opaque” words. The aim of the research is to identify cognitive links that determine the formation of secondary nominations, based on the analysis of Slavic lexemes derived from the roots bab- and did-/ded- in their object-related meanings.

The study employs a systemic cognitive-onomasiological approach, which allows lexical units to be analyzed within semantic fields and series, thus revealing regular patterns of semantic evolution. A wide range of linguistic data from various Slavic languages and dialects is examined, demonstrating that these lexemes frequently acquire meanings associated with objects characterized by verticality, solidity, and function as support.

The analysis shows that the common semantic component of these secondary meanings is the notion of a “vertically oriented solid object.” This feature can be interpreted through the ancient conceptual link “old age – tree – verticality,” as described by Potebnia. It is argued that this link reflects a stable cognitive model or “habit of thought” that governs semantic derivation processes. The findings demonstrate that even lexemes perceived as etymologically obscure may possess internal semantic motivation shaped by cognitive mechanisms.

The results confirm the effectiveness of the cognitive approach in studying semantic change and highlight its potential for further research into universal and language-specific mechanisms of secondary nomination in Slavic languages.

Typical Errors in Students’ Ukrainian Translations of English-Language Poetry: The Case of Translating Louise Glück’s “Poem”

2026-06-04T22:34:09+00:00

Student translation contests have become a productive form of training and assessment in Ukrainian translation programs: they combine clear rules, public discussion, and a strong motivational component, while also producing a corpus of comparable student translations for the same source text. In this sense, a poetic translation contest can be treated as an educational instrument that makes visible recurrent decision patterns, both successful and unsuccessful, across a cohort of student translators. This paper examines 21 English–Ukrainian translations produced in 2023 for a student translation contest, all based on Louise Glück’s contemporary poem “Poem.” The study applies qualitative error analysis supported by quantitative frequency counts of error types across the corpus of student translations. It proposes a heuristic typology, covering formal deviations, lexical-semantic errors, denotative errors, stylistic mismatch, unjustified gendering, and related shifts in voice and person, graphic–punctuation interventions, opposite-meaning shifts, interpretive additions, compression/omission, and cross-linguistic interference (Russianisms). The analysis indicates that the most recurrent problems cluster around lexical choice and collocation, interpretive changes that introduce meanings absent in the source, and formal domestication through rhyme, rhythm, and altered lineation that displaces the source text’s poetics. On this basis, the article formulates practical recommendations for Ukrainian students preparing for poetry-translation contests, emphasizing contextual reading, register awareness, careful handling of ambiguity, form-sensitive decision-making, and systematic checks against cross-linguistic interference.