On the Nature of Suržyk: Diachronic Aspects

Interest in Suržyk has considerably increased, gaining a central position in the debates about language policy, language planning and sociolinguistic issues concerning Ukraine. Various attempts to classify Suržyk have thus far been made, from a perspective determined by the branch (field) of studies and the interest of the researcher. The majority of publications have interpreted this “mixed language” as the product of causality (circumstances).or have tried, from a of functional perspective, to subordinate it to specific categories: prostorečie, pidgin/creole etc. Almost all the studies about this mainly oral “language” variety have adopted a mere synchronic perspective. After a few months spent in Ukraine to accomplish my field work, I reached the conclusion that this presumed mixed language is even more complex than the majority of studies so far available seem to suggest. On the basis of practical and theoretical activity aimed at understanding the origin and causes (development) of Suržyk, I also came to the conclusion that, in order to arrive at a reasonable explanation of this phenomenon, one should consider other parameters, such as the regional (dialectal) - diachronic developments of the Ukrainian language itself.