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

Laughter as a Manifestation of Freedom: Means of Creating the Comic in the Poetic Language of Ivan Svitlychnyi

Halyna Hubarieva — 2025-12-30

The article examines the main techniques and devices used to create comic effects in the poetry of Ivan Svitlychnyi. It emphasizes that laughter becomes a form of resistance to the system, and his prison lyrics lack a pathos of tragedy. Contrast serves as a pervasive device for generating the comic on all levels. Elevated, bookish vocabulary typical of the classical sonnet genre is juxtaposed with prison slang and lowered, coarse colloquial elements. The collision of stylistically diverse units within the closest context gives the poetic text particular expressiveness. The author frequently incorporates colloquial phraseology, whose stylistic markedness enhances the comic tone in its various manifestations; overall, the skillful play on set expressions contributes to the creation of sarcastic and satirical effects. Enantiosemy, antiphrasis, and allusion are techniques used to convey direct authorial evaluations. At the syntactic level, the mechanisms of comic expression are highlighted through antitheses, rhetorical questions and exclamations, gradation, amplification, fragmented syntax, short sentences, and dialogization of the narrative – all of which create emotionality, invectiveness, and polemical nature of the poetic phrase. It is emphasized that the key concept of FREEDOM in I. Svitlychny's poetry has an ambivalent nature, depending on whether it concerns the personal dimension of the lyrical hero's spiritual freedom, even behind bars, or the choice of those who opt for "freedom" in a totalitarian society. The concept of FREEDOM is correlated with the equally ambivalent concept of SILENCE, in terms of its semantic content: оn the one hand, silence is seen as submission to the system (compliance); оn the other hand, silence represents forced silence as a form of resistance against the system. Deep semantic irony also arises from the intertextual interaction with the reader, with references primarily to the poetics of Shevchenko’s socially critical and denunciatory works. Svitlychny masterfully succeeds in deploying the comic spectrum, ranging from irony, self-irony, and humour to scornful sarcasm or trenchant political satire and grotesque.

The literature of the 1960s in artistic structures of memory (M. Hrymych's novel “Yura”)

Liudmyla Danylenko — 2025-12-30

One of the main themes in M. Hrymych's novel “Yura” is the literary process of the 1960s in Ukraine. Its artistic reconstruction is important for understanding the problems of national self-preservation in the colonial conditions of the USSR. The article is devoted to the author's understanding of the problem of creativity and self-determination of Ukrainian artists in opposition to Soviet propaganda dependence. The aestheticization of contemporary issues reveals a clear logic in relation to collective and individual memory. Based on the scientific discourse on the “contexts” of memory, the artistic and semantic structures of the narrative about the literature of the 1960s are described. This involves appeals to history, artistic interpretations, authorial myth, places of memory, as well as the concepts of “one's own”, “self-determination”, and “intimacy”.

As a witness to the situation in Kyiv in the 1960s, M. Hrymych brought events to life as they were preserved in individual memory and echoed in collective memory. The embodiment of the idea manifested the concept of “my own” – “my memory”. The understanding of literary life in the 1960s stimulated interpretations with fictional elements that did not violate historical truth and ensured the drama of the plots. The artistic picture clearly shows points of energy, “signals” to national self-respect. The author's myth-making is characterized by a reinterpretation of the fate of famous figures, processes, and phenomena in which they were involved; the delineation of characters through psychologization; proximity to realism; and the use of symbols. The pictures of the writers' lives are full of intimacy, as they are retold from the perspective of bearers of family values. Places of memory associated with literary life in Kyiv in the 1960s are seen as sacred. Recognizing the structures of memory in M. Hrymych's novel “Yura” makes it possible to comprehensively study the artistic possibilities of the text about the past.

The Tower of Babel in the Yevhen Sverstyuk’s Symbolic Space

Ihor Isichenko — 2025-12-30

The essayistic heritage of Yevhen Sverstyuk is revealed over time in its prognostic potential. This makes his works relevant to reading in the context of civilizational confrontations of our days.

The aim of the article is to analyze the semantic richness of allusions to the biblical plot in the book “The Rebuilding of the Tower of Babel”.

The book of essays by Yevhen Sverstyuk “The Rebuilding of the Tower of Babel (The Chernobyl Parable)” was published by the Munich publishing house “Suchasnist” in 1989. This publication reflected the attention of the Suchasnist publishing house and the Prolog Research Corporation to the dissident movement in the USSR and specifically to the person of Sverstyuk. His essay “On the Pogruzhalsky Trial” was published in the “Suchasnist” journal back in 1965. Ukrainian circles in the West followed Sverstyuk's public speeches, his persecution by the Soviet authorities, and his arrest in 1972. The book “The Rebuilding of the Tower of Babel” appeared after the author was released during the period of relative liberalization of the Soviet regime, called “perestroika” (rebuilding) by Mikhail Gorbachev. The book's title was a clear allusion to this propaganda slogan, just as the subtitle addressed to painful memories of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. The archetypal image of the Tower of Babel carries a bundle of connotations centered around a central concept: the inevitable catastrophe of social projects inspired by the desire for self-affirmation and manifestation of one's own greatness — purely illusory. The visible manifestation of this catastrophe is the explosion of a nuclear reactor and the radiation contamination of Ukrainian lands. The inevitability of the destructive finale of the communist experiment, which was still ongoing in the USSR at the time of the book's publication, is also easily read in the interpretation of the archetypal image. But Sverstyuk is not limited to retrospectives. He is concerned about the tendency to overturn the bureaucratic system instead of completely abandoning its model. Sverstyuk is looking for institutions and individuals capable of posing a fundamental question to society about the spiritual foundations of its development — and he does not find them. He is concerned about the apathy and inertia of thinking not only among bureaucrats, but also among intellectual and creative elites. He cherishes hope for the emergence of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) on the basis of folk religious tradition, capable of being the driving force behind the construction of an entirely new country. Later, Sverstyuk became one of the leaders of the lay movement in the UAOC, edited the newspaper “Nasha Vira” (Our Faith), and belonged to the close circle of Patriarch Dimitry Yarema. But the UAOC did not live up to Sverstyuk's expectations: after the death of the patriarch, it made moral compromises with the post-communist authorities. Finally, on February 4, 2005, a group of racketeers, sent by the then Primate of the UAOC, Methodius Kudryakov, threw Sverstyuk and the archive of the editorial office of "Our Faith" out of the patriarchate building. The sad predictions of the essay about the decorative reconstruction of the Tower of Babel were revealed with cruel irony.

This allows us to conclude about the deep cautionary content of the central image of the book “The Rebuilding of the Tower of Babel” and its openness to the Ukrainian perspective of post-colonial transformations.

“You are so far away, you don't even exist...”: Negative Constructions in the Poetic Language of Mykola Vinhranovsky

Yuliya Kalashnyk — 2025-12-30

Mykola Vinhranovsky quite actively uses negation in his poetic language, the systematic study of which is relevant because it allows us to trace the unique nature of the writer's world perception and linguistic thinking.

The aim of our research is to identify the structural and semantic features of negative constructions in M. Vinhranovsky’s poetic language, and to determine their text-forming functions and semantic load.

The author’s poetic syntax is characterized by various forms of negation in terms of grammatical expression. The artistic potential of negative constructions typical of M. Vinhranovsky's poetic idiostyle is conditioned by the reflection on Ukraine's destiny and the conveyance of the feelings of the lyrical subject, who is inseparably connected with it. Negative constructions contain evaluative judgments that reflect the lyrical subject's life values. General negative sentences actively function, conveying the absence of processes or phenomena whose occurrence is anticipated, as well as the transience and changes in nature or the lyrical hero's life. Verbs with the negative particle sometimes serve as climactic moments in the poems.

Impersonal constructions with the negative word нема/немає (there is no/there isn't) are quite frequent, creating a gradation of the feelings being reflected. Multiple negation, in particular, conveys the boundary between the real and the unreal. We observe instances of the particles не and ні functioning as the subject and object of the sentence to express various emotions and states.

Partial negative sentences convey the lyrical hero's reflection on experience. The author combines different types of grammatical negation within a single sentence, specifically to create the image of time. Negations pertaining to secondary sentence parts are often unexpected and serve to express the rheme. Negation is enhanced by amplification, various types of repetition, contrast, and becomes a component of chiasmus.

Thus, negative constructions varying in type of modality-declarative, imperative, and optative-express the subtlest changes in the lyrical hero's moods and feelings through negation. Implicit negative semantics of rhetorical questions introduce special expressiveness.

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

Inna Litvinova — 2025-12-30

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.

Spiritual and ethical discourse of the sixties in Ukrainian dramaturgy of the 1960s–1980s

Angela Matyushchenko — 2025-12-30

The article examines the echoes of the moral and psychological intentions of the sixties' prose in Ukrainian dramaturgy of the 1960s–1980s, since in domestic science it is believed that the phenomenon of the sixties occurred primarily in the poetic and prose genres. Applying the historical and literary research method, based on the thesis of the destruction of the official military-victorious myth of the Second World War, first in O. Dovzhenko's film story "Ukraine in Fire", and later in the prose of the "children of war", in the process of comparative analysis of individual prose works of writers of the sixties and dramatic works of the most significant Ukrainian playwrights of the 1960s M. Zarudny and O. Kolomiyets, the author comes to the conclusion that in the 1960s one can rather observe discrepancies between the manifestation of realistic, mainly tragic-existential themes in Ukrainian prose and ideologically prolonged collisions in drama. Ukrainian dramaturgy of the 1960s – as the genre most ideologically engaged due to its ontological property of influencing the most mass audience through theatrical performance – was forced to balance between officially approved themes of "renewal of society of the Thaw era" and attempts to reflect processes of the revival of the moral and aesthetic primary sources of national existence and shift the focus of its attention to the human individuality with its true internal conflicts. However, in the next two decades, the best works of Ukrainian playwrights, and in particular M. Stelmakh, different in genre modifications and artistic properties, already in a unique way reflect the main philosophical and ethical dilemmas of the existence of a Ukrainian person, which so globally appeared in the works of H. Tyutyunnyk, E. Hutsal, V. Drozd.

The Problem of Memory and Identity in the Light of the Concept of “I and the Other” in Valerii Shevchuk’s Story “The Plague”

Iryna Prylipko — 2025-12-30

The problem of loss of identity in V. Shevchuk’s story “The Plague” is considered as a consequence of loss of memory. The problem is highlighted through the prism of the central concept of dialogue in philosophy, the “I and the Other”. Such a research approach is relevant in view of the need to deepen the understanding of the philosophical context of V. Shevchuk’s prose, as well as because the specified issue has not yet been the subject of a separate analysis in the works of researchers of the writer’s work, or has been covered in passing, in the context of studying other issues.

The purpose of the article is to consider the features of the development of the theme of memory in the story ‘The Plague” in connection with the problem of identity and the concept of “I and the Other”, to trace the role of the Other on the hero’s path to self-identification. The theoretical and methodological basis of the investigation was the ideas of memory researchers (Alayda Assman, etc.), representatives of phenomenology, in particular the philosophy of dialogue (Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas).

As a result of the analysis, the path of the hero of the story by V. Shevchuk to finding his I, which runs through loss, despair, suffering, trials, meeting with the Other, knowledge and choice, was traced. It was found that, in agreement with the views of representatives of the philosophy of dialogue, the writer reveals the process of self-identification of the I through dialogue with the Other, the result of which is a rethinking of the ontological meaning and temporal planes, the transition from appropriation to acceptance, knowledge and understanding, and also from alienation to responsibility.

Conclusions were drawn about the key role in modeling worldview and intellectual collisions, spiritual and ethical searches, the dialectics of the inner world of man in the story “The Plague” of the ideas of the philosophy of dialogue, existential motives and ethical concepts. The means of deploying the problem-thematic, images, plot-compositional plans of the work are neo-baroque poetics and polyphonic narrative.

Partial modification of verbal semantics of set verbal substantive phrases compared to the semantics of corresponding monolexeme verbs in the English language

Hanna Aniutina — 2025-12-30

Tendency to nominalization is of great importance in the English language. Many linguists connect the brightly expressed tendency to nominalization in English with the analytism of the English language system and some specific processes in the history of the English language development. Nominalization processes as a sign of language variation at different levels of its structure are quite active, which makes the study of different aspects of their functioning quite relevant. The aim of this article is analyze functioning and interrelationship of set verbal substantive phrases and correlated monolexeme verbs, especially partial modification of verbal semantics of set verbal substantive phrases in the English language. Set verbal substantive phrases are considered as phrases consisting of a transitive verb and a verbal noun, the peculiarity of which lies in the fact that they are characterized by a whole meaning which is obtained from the meaning of the included words and is related to only one referent, not two. That is why the equivalents of set verbal substantive phrases are often monolexeme verbs which are derivationally related to the substantive component. The carried-out study demonstrates that set verbal substantive phrases may differ from correlated monolexeme verbs primarily in semantics receiving some additional semantic load.

Specificity of many set verbal substantive phrases lies in the fact that purposefulness or deliberate character of the action, additional lexical shade of action manifestation intensivity, action effectiveness shade, differentiated expression of directed action, emphasis and the like are expressed with their help. Set verbal substantive phrases may express additional grammatical meanings, such aspectual characteristics as multiplicity, partiality and the like. Besides aspectuality set verbal substantive phrases as disjointed nominatives can also express voice relations and play an important role in refilling and widening Passive field with lexical grammatical constituents.

The study proves that process nomination disjoint in two components – verbal and nominal – isn`t accidental and provides for solving a number of communicative tasks.

A corpus study on the figurative usage of ancient hero names in contemporary online media

Nadiia Bardyn — 2025-12-30

In recent years, interest in ancient mythology has been steadily increasing, as it emerges not merely as a component of cultural heritage but as a dynamic source of symbols and metaphors relevant to contemporary contexts. Mythological figures are actively revived across popular culture, and media, acquiring new meanings, associations, and situational nuances in the process.

Within contemporary media discourse, the names of ancient heroes operate as salient elements of cultural memory. They are frequently employed figuratively rather than literally, enabling authors of online publications to appeal to shared cultural codes, create expressive characterizations, and expand the interpretive potential of texts. Such allusions and metaphorical uses enhance the emotional impact of media narratives while simultaneously illustrating the mechanisms by which ancient cultural heritage is preserved, adapted, and transformed in the modern linguistic environment.

The significance of this study lies in its integration of corpus-based methodology with the analysis of culturally marked linguistic units, providing new perspectives for investigating intertextual connections and the representation of cultural heritage within the media landscape. The research findings offer insights into how semantic transformations of ancient hero names are realized in contemporary Ukrainian online media and the communicative functions these linguistic units perform within public discourse.

The primary aim of this study is to examine the frequency and distinctive patterns of figurative usage of ancient hero names in contemporary Ukrainian online media texts, drawing upon the GRAC corpus. Employing a corpus-based approach ensures the representativeness of the dataset and allows for the identification of systematic patterns in the use of these units within journalistic discourse, including both expressive and evaluative functions.

The material under analysis comprises Ukrainian online media texts included in the GRAC corpus, which enables a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of linguistic phenomena. By tracing the deployment of ancient hero names, the study highlights not only their evolving semantic and pragmatic roles but also their capacity to function as instruments for symbolic modeling and interpretation of social reality.

Overall, the research demonstrates that the figurative and allusive use of mythological names in contemporary media serves as a meaningful interface between past and present, linking collective cultural memory with contemporary communicative needs. This approach sheds light on broader mechanisms of cultural continuity, adaptation, and semiotic innovation, illustrating the enduring relevance of classical mythology as a source of symbolic and rhetorical resources in today’s media environment.

Language Barrier Problem while Studying in a Foreign Language: Experience of International Students of English-Language and German-Language Programs

Mariia Bobro — 2025-12-30

The article addresses the issue of language barriers among international students enrolled in English- and German-medium programs at higher education institutions abroad. The study is based on a survey of respondents aged 17 to 26, who are international students of English- and German-taught programs in various countries. According to the findings, the key challenges in the learning process include mastering specialized vocabulary, academic writing, participation in discussions, and understanding lectures. These difficulties are significantly reinforced by psychological factors, such as fear of making mistakes in oral communication, anxiety and lack of confidence in one’s knowledge.

The results reveal that, despite considerable linguistic and academic obstacles, some students do not perceive them as critical to academic success, while others reported a direct negative impact of language difficulties on their comprehension of study materials, written assignments, and participation in group work. At the same time, both groups emphasized the importance of additional language practice strategies beyond the university setting. Among the most effective means of overcoming the language barrier were the use of textbooks, online resources, mobile applications, participation in specialized language courses, interaction with native speakers, watching films and educational videos, and individual tutoring sessions.

The findings indicate that there is no universal solution to overcoming language barriers: the effectiveness of different approaches depends on the level of prior language proficiency, individual needs and the student’s psychological resilience. Nonetheless, there is a clear need for systematic support by higher education institutions, which should encompass not only general language courses but also discipline-specific training and psychological support. Such measures would help to mitigate communicative anxiety, foster confidence in one’s abilities, and ensure a more successful integration of international students into the new academic environment.

Comparative constructions in Vitaliy Bilozir's poetry as elements of the artist's idiostyle: semantic and thematic classification of an object

Oksana Havryliuk — 2025-12-30

In modern linguistic science, researchers are increasingly interested in studying stylistic figures, particularly comparative constructions as expressive means of language. The relevance of scientific research is determined by the need to study comparative constructions in the poetic works of the modern Ukrainian poet Vitaliy Bilozir as important means of forming the artist's idiolect. The research of comparative structures in literary texts is particularly valuable, as they serve as one of the most effective means of creating imagery and reflect the specificity of the author's worldview and individual style.

The purpose of this article is to carry out a semantic and thematic classification of the object of comparatives in Vitalii Bilozir's poetry in the context of researching the author's idiostyle.

It has been found that comparative constructions in the poet's work not only perform image-making function, but also contribute to the formation of a unique conceptual system, where objects of comparison acquire symbolic meaning. The analysis showed that the choice of objects of comparison in V. Bilozir's poetry is often associated with natural elements, emotional states, and philosophical concepts, which gives reason to consider his poetic world as a multidimensional system in which every detail has a profound significance. In this way, the poet combines individual experience with universal human values and forms his own poetic picture of the world. The following semantic groups of comparison objects were analyzed: confessional vocabulary, personal names, somatisms, floronyms, zoonyms, names of structures and their parts, natural phenomena, material and physical concepts, temporal and spatial concepts, concrete and abstract names.

The results of the research contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of forming the idiolect of a modern Ukrainian poet and opening new perspectives for the analysis of comparative constructions in poetry.

The Phenomenon of Bilingualism and Interference in translations between Catalan and Spanish

Karina Donets — 2025-12-30

The study is due to the intensive functioning of the Catalan and Spanish languages in Catalonia, where bilingualism represents not only a socio-cultural reality but also a key factor in the development of linguistic and translation competence. The investigation of code-switching and interference is significiant for both translation studies and cognitive linguistics, as it helps to elucidate the mechanisms through which bilingualism influences translation quality.

The aim of the article is to identify the specific features of bilingualism, code-switching, and interference in translations between Catalan and Spanish, and to determine the factors that condition translation quality.

The study applies comparative analysis of translations, a cognitive approach to bilingual processes and elements of sociolinguistic description.

The results indicate that the translations from Catalan into Spanish were higher quality than those in the opposite direction, due to a more consistent level of education in Spanish. The most common mistakes were grammatical shifts, spelling inaccuracies, and lexical calques. Older participants tended to rely on literal translation and interference-induced mistakes, while younger bilinguals demonstrated higher literacy and stylistic flexibility. It was further revealed that even minimal translation experience reduces the frequency of errors and enhances the naturalness of the text.

It is concluded that bilingualism alone does not provide high quality translation. The crucial factors included the level of formal language education, the presence of translation experience and the ability to control interference.

The Semantic Load of the Epithet «Drunk» in the Poetry of T. Shevchenko

Yurii Kokhan — 2025-12-30

The article analyses the semantics of the frequently used epithet «drunk» in the poetry of T. Shevchenko, which, according to the «Dictionary of Shevchenko's Language» appears 53 times. It is found that despite the significant number of studies of various types and directions related to Shevchenko’s works, the semantics of this word has not been the subject of separate linguistic analysis. Considering the prominent role of the word «drunk» and its derivatives in Shevchenko's works, as well as the insufficient degree of study of its semantics, it is considered topical to investigate the meaning of this word and its functions in the broader context of Shevchenko's poetry.

The aim of the study is to determine the semantic load of the epithet «drunk» in short and long epic the poems of T. Shevchenko, in comparison with the semantics of this word in lexicographical sources, as well as to clarify its stylistic functions. The analysis was carried out by comparing the dictionary meanings of the word with its semantics in the text of «Kobzar». The studies of O. Potebnya on the nature of artistic language were used, particularly his idea that the semantics of a word should be analyzed not only by its description in the dictionary but also in context.

The actual material is analyzed in three aspects: the use of the word «drunk» in its direct meaning; its metaphorical meaning in metaphorical constructions; and its use in comparative phrases. It is found that the most common usage is in its direct meaning, as recorded in explanatory dictionaries – meaning «intoxicated» or «in a state of drunkenness». In metaphorical constructions, the word acquires various meanings: immoral, reckless, furious, etc. Comparisons involving the component «drunk», where human behavior or the movement of objects is compared to the behavior or movements of a drunken person, are represented to the least extent.

Phraseological units of the thematic group “Leisure” in the aspect of translatability / untranslatability (on the material of the English and Ukrainian languages)

Yuliia Krapyva — 2025-12-30

The ideas of O. Potebnia, whose scientific output is distinguished by a clear interest in the national peculiarities of the reality perception as well as the accumulation of culture of a certain ethnic group in its language, are fruitful for the study of the translatability / untranslatability of one language units into the other, in particular its phraseological units.

The objective of the paper in question is to study phraseological units of the thematic group “Leisure” in English and Ukrainian, taking into account the issue of their translatability / untranslatability.

The above-mentioned issue is related to the possibility to convey adequately the meaning encoded in the unit of the original by the means of the target language as well as to the degree of equivalence of the source and target units. While translating the specific class of units – phraseologisms, the possible difficulties can be overcome by using component analysis, which at the initial stage allows the translator to determine semantic components, as understanding them is necessary to select an adequate phraseological counterpart in the target language. The phraseologisms of the thematic group “Leisure” have the following common semantic components: cessation of work, the opportunity to relax and rest, recovery after fatigue.

The research material is phraseological units selected from online resources dedicated to phraseologisms and idioms in English and Ukrainian. According to our observations, the phraseological units of the thematic group under study can be classified into two subgroups that are opposite in their approach to leisure: active pastime and passive pastime. It has been found out that the counterpart available in the target language is mostly a partial equivalent. Due to the difference in imagery, the loss of the idioethnic component of the phraseological unit is noticeable. As a result, there are no grounds to claim the untranslatability of the phraseological units of the thematic group in question. The possibility to convey the meaning encoded by the set expressions of the English and Ukrainian languages is due to the common components in the meaning of the lexeme “leisure” in the consciousness of the speakers of both languages.

Further research can be devoted to the analysis of the ways of translating phraseological units of the thematic group “Leisure”, which were used by specialists during the translation of fiction.

Gestalt psychology in a cognitive-evolutionary light and the expediency of using Gestalt psychological terms “figure” and “ground” in linguistic research

Sergiy Popov — 2025-12-30

The present article is dedicated to discussing Gestalt psychology in a cognitive-evolutionary light, including determining the expediency of using Gestalt psychological terms “figure” and “ground” in linguistic research, as suggested by Leonard Talmy. First, it is demonstrated that such a school of psychology as Gestalt psychology has focused only on one, right-hemisphere side of human cognition, absolutizing it despite the existence of its other left-hemisphere side, which during the civilizational history of humanity has enabled its scientific progress. It is shown that, in accordance with the cognitive-evolutionary theory of language, in onto- and phylogenesis, right-hemisphere syncretic (Gestalt) perception is replaced by superficial perception, during which the categorization of studied objects according to certain traits is already present, but only according to the first trait that happens to catch attention. Over time, superficial perception is to be replaced by left-hemisphere alternative perception, during which categorization occurs in accordance with a trait chosen deliberately from several other traits, meaning that a person simultaneously perceives all the traits of a studied phenomenon. In general, there has been little attention from Gestalt psychology towards perception that is higher than syncretic (Gestalt) perception (the only exception is the law of Prӓgnanz, the essence of which is close to the understanding of superficial perception). Second, the following is proven in the article: 1) Gestalt psychological terms “figure” and “ground,” which Leonard Talmy suggests using in linguistic research, do not possess in linguistics the traits that they possess in Gestalt psychology, which results in an absence of grounds to claim that these terms have been taken from Gestalt psychology; 2) figure and ground, as Talmy understands them, have only partial realization, while the notions of movable and immovable, which L. Talmy uses as synonymous to the notions of figure and ground, are realized much more often, since they depend not on the position of “being behind”, which the notion of ground depends on, but on a more universal position of “closeness”; 3) in language, both figure and ground can be movable and immovable, which contradicts Talmy’s idea that the figure is always movable and the ground is always immovable; 4) in language, there exist syntagmatic restrictions, which are due not only to the oppositions between figure and ground or mobility and immobility.

The Concept of “Wise” in Artistic Discourse

Xiaoyan Huo — 2025-12-30

The article explores the concept of “Wise” in Russian artistic discourse of the 20th–21st centuries. The study is carried out within the framework of cognitive linguistics, where artistic discourse is viewed as a special type of communication reflecting both the individual author’s worldview and national cultural stereotypes.

The aim of the research is to identify the cognitive features of the concept “Wise,” its semantic characteristics, and its functioning in literary texts. The material includes examples from the Russian National Corpus. The methodology combines cognitive, semantic, and contextual analysis.

The analysis shows that the adjective *wise* is most often used to describe people of high social status, knowledge, and experience (rulers, mentors, scholars). Wisdom is associated with intelligence, knowledge, experience, and moral qualities such as kindness and courage. However, paradoxical combinations (“wise and evil”) also occur, reflecting the ambivalence of the ethical component of the concept.

Special attention is paid to gender and age: although wisdom is traditionally attributed to elderly people, in artistic discourse both men and women, as well as children, may possess it. Wisdom also characterizes divine beings, prophets, and people with the gift of foresight. The study reveals metaphorical and metonymic transfers of the attribute “wise” to books, words, decisions, professions, animals (owl, raven, snake), natural phenomena, emotions (“wise love,” “wise anger”), and parts of the body (“wise head,” “wise eyes”). In such contexts, wisdom functions as a source of knowledge, harmony, and experience. At the same time, artistic discourse allows for deconstruction of the concept, when “wise” combines with negative or absurd notions (foolishness, nonsense, blasphemy), demonstrating individual authorial interpretation and expanding the semantic range.

In conclusion, the concept of “Wise” in artistic discourse primarily represents the intellectual component (mind, knowledge, experience), while the moral-ethical dimension is found at the periphery, marked by variability and ambiguity.

Translating Popular Texts as an Educational Practice

Pavlo Shopin — 2025-12-30

This article explores translation as a socially embedded, politically situated, and pedagogically transformative practice. Drawing on my experience as a translator-scholar and educator, I present a vision shaped through the translation of public-facing texts for Ukrainian online media. Translation is approached here as a form of intellectual intervention and civic engagement. The article is structured around nine thematic areas: translator motivation, professional competencies, the impact and reception of translation, subjectivity and agency in translational practice, community building through translation, institutional partnerships, thematic scope, the attribution of collective student translation, and the documentation of its outcomes. Since 2018, I have led the student research and practice group Written Translation in Action at the Department of Applied Linguistics, Comparative Language Studies, and Translation at Mykhailo Drahomanov State University of Ukraine. This initiative has resulted in the publication of over 400 student translations in outlets such as Krytyka, Commons, The Claquers, Experiment, and others. Translational work within the group helps students critically engage with diverse texts, participate in editorial processes, and contribute to public discourse. They develop linguistic and cultural competencies, conduct research, and gain experience with digital tools and publishing practices. Under wartime conditions, translation emerges as a vital means of shaping civic discourse, fostering intercultural solidarity, and promoting critical thinking. Partnerships with international platforms, particularly the German journal Demokratischer Salon, reinforce this vision by facilitating intercultural dialogue and connecting Ukrainian readers to global intellectual currents. As a cultural and political practice, translation contributes to the dissemination of values and the imagining of an inclusive future. It enables the building of solidarity-based communities and fosters connections across languages, cultures, and societies.

Scientific discussion «On Potebnia’s Manner of Citation» (based on materials from periodicals of the 1920s)

Valentyna Borbuniuk — 2025-12-30

In 1922, Olexander Potebnia`s study «Thought and Language» was published as the first volume of his collected works. This academic publication sparked a scientific debate, initiated by Viktor Petrov’s review «Potebnia and Lotze», which appeared in the «Notes of the Historical and Philological Department of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences» (1923 issue, cover-dated 1924).

The purpose of this article is to highlight the main aspects of the scholarly dialogue.

It has been established that the key issue of the discussion concerned “Potebnia’s manner of quoting” and the need for careful editorial verification of citations. To demonstrate the scientific significance of the issue, V. Petrov conducted his own verification of Potebnia’s quotations from R. G. Lotze (and partly from H. Steinthal). He found that Potebnia’s characteristic style involved frequently omitting quotation marks when citing others.

It has been shown that I. Aizenshtok agreed with Petrov, while scholars associated with the fourth edition of «Thought and Language» – in particular, V. Khartsiyev, the author of the foreword – opposed him. Khartsiyev’s response article, «Potebnia and ‘Quotes’ (On One Scholarly Review)», published for discussion in «Chervony Shlyakh» in 1925, was analyzed. In it, Khartsiyev calls Petrov an «expert on quotations» and a «text lover», accusing him of attempting to revise the established high evaluations of Potebnia’s scientific legacy. Yet he also admits that the issue raised is important and that the publication required substantial revision. The revised and corrected fifth edition appeared in 1926.

The analysis clearly demonstrates that the conclusions reached by scholars in the 1920s remain relevant today, as Potebnia’s «Thought and Language» has been only partially translated into Ukrainian, and only on the basis of the 1862 edition.

Fictionalism and Routine: Tropes of Alienated Violence in A. Salnikov’s «The Department»

Ksenіya Zalozna — 2025-12-30

The article analyzes the mechanisms of alienation and normalization of violence in Alexey Salnikov’s novel The Department (Отдел), which exists in two versions — the magazine version (2015) and the book version (2018). The focus is on the bureaucratization and cinematic code in the perception of cruelty.

In contemporary media discourses, violence increasingly takes on the form of everyday normality, which calls for a rethinking of its artistic representations. Salnikov’s The Department combines bureaucratic and cinematic codes, demonstrating the mechanisms of alienation and routinization of cruelty.

The aim of the article is to determine how these mechanisms are realized in the text through bureaucratic procedurality, the trivialization of everyday details, and the fictionalization of events.

The analysis explores how the representation of killings in reports diminishes their emotional significance, turning violence into a routine process. This aspect is examined in the context of Hannah Arendt’s concept of the banality of evil and Slavoj Žižek’s notion of systemic violence. The main characters lose their capacity for reflection, while the language of bureaucracy, mythologization, and alienated cataloguing of reality serves to justify crimes.

Another important mechanism of alienation is the use of cinematic clichés. The protagonist perceives what happens through film stereotypes, and the department where he works becomes receptively similar to a cinema hall or film set. Operation Hollywood, ekphrastic references to cinema, and the narrativization of events through familiar scenarios create the effect of fictionality of what is happening, echoing Žižek’s ideas on the perception of violence in mass culture and Susan Sontag’s reflections on visual distancing.

A comparison of the versions shows that in the magazine version, the fight against aliens introduces a different interpretative focus on violence. In the book version, this element is removed, shifting the emphasis to power, control, and the individual’s voluntary participation in an absurd system.

Thus, the novel demonstrates how bureaucracy and pop culture can be used to transform violence into an everyday norm and evil into a social convention.

The Mythologics of the Story “Nimrod” in the Context of B. Schulz’s “The Cinnamon Shops”

Andrii Krasniashchykh — 2025-12-30

The short story «Nimrod», located in the middle of B. Schulz’s book «The Cinnamon Shops», rarely attracts the attention of Schulz scholars, and there are no separate scholarly researches dedicated to «Nimrod». Schulz scholars usually perceive «Nimrod» as a lyrical etude, which plays a secondary role in the general plot of the collection. At the same time, its central location in the book and the fact that it does not even mention the main character of the previous stories, the Father, require a closer look at the plot of «Nimrod» through its mythologics. This approach could be the key to changing characters (from Father to Son) in the second half of «The Cinnamon Shops».

The aim of the article is to find out how the mythologics of «Nimrod» is connected with the general mythologics of «The Cinnamon Shops» and how the plot of this story is inscribed in the plot of the book.

The methodological basis of the study is mythocriticism.

The story «Nimrod» plays not a supporting role in the structure of the collection «The Cinnamon Shops», but one of the key roles. Its protagonist neither succumbs to the «temptation of forming» matter and nature, nor follows the paternal path of demiurgic experimentation with nature as matter, but remains its observer. The puppy Nimrod that appears in the boy’s house suddenly and out of nowhere, as if it had fallen from the sky, and about whom the boy says: «the favourite of the gods», is in the mythologics of the story and the entire book a test of the boy’s readiness for initiation into the mysteries of nature and life. These mysteries will be revealed to the boy in the second half of the book when he meets Pan in the story of the same name, or feels the birth of a new year with the first glimpses, still a promise, of the coming spring on Christmas Eve in the story «The Cinnamon Shops», or sees in reality in the inhabitants of the city what his father told in his treatise on mannequins, in «The Street of Crocodiles».

The evolution of female characters in the historical prose of A. Kaschenko

Ganna Pletnyova — 2025-12-30

The article traces the development of female characters in the historical prose of the Ukrainian writer A. Kaschenko (1858–1921). The studied – the historical stories “Zaporizhska Slava” (1906), “Slavni Pobratymy” (1913), the historical novels “Pid Korsunem” (1913), “Borci za Pravdu” (1913), “U Zapali Boroty” (1914), “From the Dniepr to the Danube” (1914), “The Destroyed Nest” (1914) – reflect the situation of Ukrainian women during military aggressions by the Ottoman Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire.

The history of the creation of the analyzed works, the genre features of these historical stories and novels, and the plot and compositional elements of the works were analyzed in order to determine the place of female characters in specific historical circumstances and their role in the development of events. The fundamental stylistic devices used by the writer in creating these characters (portraits, dialogues, monologues, etc.) are recorded.

A comparative analysis of the central female characters in the studied works is proposed, which makes it possible to draw conclusions about the use of a single model for their creation, inspired by the romantic prose of the second half of the 19^th century, as well as the influence of traditional constructions of female images in the collective memory of the Ukrainian people – the mother-guardian, captive girl, woman-fighter, etc. The ideological significance of some female characters is also emphasized, as they became not only the bearers of the author’s historiophilosophical position, but also the embodiment of the hopes of the Ukrainian society in the 1910s and 1920s.

An attempt is made to examine the peculiarities of the emergence and development of the male space, which is identified in A. Kaschenko’s historical prose with the Ukrainian Cossacks, and the coexistence of this space with the female space, which is a typical subject of contemporary literary studies.