The 'Language Question' Column on Glavcom
Linguist Olga Vasylieva hosts the 'Language Question' column on the website Glavcom, where she examines the usage of the Ukrainian phrases 'u ramkakh', 'v mezhakh', 'u ramakh', and 'u ramtsyakh'. Readers are encouraged to submit their own queries about Ukrainian spelling and style to info@glavcom.ua with the subject line 'Language Question'.
A Debate Among Language Experts
Linguists have long debated the proper use of 'u ramkakh' versus 'v mezhakh'. In his book 'Language Is Not a Calque', Taras Bereza advises using 'v mezhakh' instead of 'u ramkakh'. However, Professor Oleksandr Ponomarev employs 'v ramkakh', noting that
“'u ramkakh' or 'u mezhakh'? These prepositional phrases are synonymous and almost always interchangeable.” - Oleksandr Ponomarev
In his publication 'Lessons of the State Language', Borys Rohoza also emphasizes that 'u ramkakh' and 'u mezhakh' are synonyms and can nearly always replace each other. However, when referring to a location or geographic area, 'v mezhakh' is the correct choice.
According to the GRAC corpus, the phrase 'u/v ramkakh' appears 240,000 times, while 'u/v ramakh' and 'u/v ramtsyakh' occur only a few hundred times. Historically, Ivan Ohiienko used 'v ramkakh' in 1939, and Stepan Bandera did so in 1949. The website Onlinecorrector recommends replacing 'u ramkakh' with 'v mezhakh' or 'u ramakh'.
The column also tackles other language usage issues. For instance, Olha Kadenko asked about the word 'menshovarti'. The linguist responded that no such word exists in Ukrainian; only 'menshovartisnyi' is correct. Regarding 'smakivshchyna', the GRAC corpus records 27 instances of its use, and it is listed in the online orthographic dictionary of the Ukrainian Language and Information Fund of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
The manufacturer 'Try Vedmedi' labels its products as 'vareniky z vyshneyu' (dumplings with cherry), raising questions about whether 'vyshnya' is being correctly used as a collective noun. The column also explores the words 'postyty', 'postytysya', and 'postuvaty', which are absolute synonyms. Similarly, 'khovaty' and 'khoronyty' are synonyms. Another query addresses the terms 'psychoemotsiine napruzhennia' and 'psychoemotsiina napruha', which are also synonymous.
In this way, the 'Language Question' column on Glavcom plays a vital role in promoting correct Ukrainian usage, offering readers practical advice and clarifications. At a time of ongoing linguistic change and foreign influence, such initiatives help preserve language standards and boost public language awareness.
In addition to the distinctions between 'u ramkakh' and 'v mezhakh', the nuances of Ukrainian verbs also spark debate among linguists. For example, the difference between 'rozv'yazuvaty' and 'vyrishuvaty' has been a point of contention. To explore this topic further, check out how a linguist clarifies the distinctions between these verbs in our related article on verb usage.