Archaisms

Archaisms. In the Ukrainian language these consist primarily of Church Slavonic words and word forms mostly designating abstract concepts related to church tradition, and words designating realia (objects and notions pertaining to the folkways—obsolete occupations, titles and forms of address, etc) of the early and middle periods of Ukrainian history. Only a small number of archaisms stemming from the medieval period have survived in the Ukrainian language. They were initially ignored by populist literary trends, which concentrated primarily on the spoken language of the peasantry. During the Soviet period these archaisms have been viewed as ‘nationalistic’ and hence to be avoided. Authors who have incorporated archaisms into their style relatively freely include Taras Shevchenko, Panteleimon Kulish, Katria Hrynevycheva, Mykola Bazhan, Yurii Darahan, Oleksa Stefanovych, Oksana Liaturynska.