Every year on November 9th the Day of Ukrainian Language and Writing is celebrated in Ukraine. It is a special holiday for the faculty FPSC, because here are taught the disciplines for improving skills in the Ukrainian language.
The date of the celebration was not chosen by chance, according to the Orthodox calendar, November 9th is the day in memory of Reverend Nestor the Chronicler, a follower of Kyrylo and Mefodii, the creators of the Slavonic written language. On this day, according to tradition, flowers are laid at the monument of Nestor the Chronicler, the best popularizers of the Ukrainian word are honoured, and also the International competition of connoisseurs of the Ukrainian language starts. Since 2000, the tradition of celebration has been supplemented by the All-Ukrainian Radio Dictation of National Unity. Representatives of the Faculty FPSC of Sumy State University have always actively taken part in it. And this year, despite the pandemic restrictions, will not be an exception. For all those wishing to check their literacy, we would like to note that the current radio dictation is somewhat different from the previous ones in terms of both the form of conducting and the form of submitting texts.
Olha Sydorenko, Vice Head of the Department of Journalism and Philology, told us about the intricacies of teaching the Ukrainian language and its importance in the professional development of future specialists:
- There are certain differences in the Ukrainian language with regard to future journalists and students of other specialties. For most people, Ukrainian is a means of achieving goals, demonstrating their professional skills and self-representation. Journalists strive not only to comply with the norms of the Ukrainian language and rules of communication, but also to cultivate respect for the language and the desire of the audience to speak it. Teaching the language to students is an interesting and sometimes difficult task. During classes I usually try to tell something interesting from the history of the language and the origin of words, to show bright moments that will stay in memory for a long time. A person should have an inner desire to speak his / her native language, which is the means of his / her ethnic and national self-identification. Ukrainian communication unites us into one community. And today, as always, we need to emphasize our own Ukrainian identity from everyone personally to the state level.
The Faculty FPSC of Sumy State University teaches Ukrainian not only to those for whom the language is native. Students from many foreign countries also study it.
Larysa Bidenko, Head of the Department of Language Training for Foreign Citizens, shared the secrets of how Ukrainian is taught to foreigners:
- Learning Ukrainian for foreigners is actually very difficult, because you have to start from scratch. We have a preparatory department and English-speaking groups where they learn Ukrainian as a language of communication. Our lecturers have developed special methods and textbooks with different levels of the language. Experience shows that studying Ukrainian is easier for students from Arab countries, as they quickly find common language with Ukrainian and communicate a lot outside the university. Students from Indian countries quite often, when they hear a dialect or Russian, ask us what language people in Sumy speak and what it means.
Our students talked about their attitude towards the language, its importance in public and everyday life.
- I communicate with my friends and parents in Russian. The place of birth - Luhansk Region - certainly influenced this," says Valeriia Barykina, a student of the specialty “Journalism”. - But when people address me in Ukrainian, I try to switch to Ukrainian. Sometimes it turns out bad, and I try my best. I am a patriot of my country, and my attitude to the Ukrainian language is positive. I try to promote it in every possible way: I distribute memes, notes, poems in my native language. It is fashionable to speak Ukrainian now, I would even say trendy. Many "tik-tocks" popularize the Ukrainian language. I am trying to learn Ukrainian so that I can communicate easily and teach my children the native language.
- In everyday life, I communicate that special Sumy dialect," says Valentyn Mordovets, a student of the specialty “Philology”. - I speak Ukrainian only when it is necessary. On the whole, my attitude to the language is positive, but I don't think it's important to communicate in literary Ukrainian daily.
Anton Mytko, a student of the specialty “Psychology”, talks about the fashion for using Ukrainian:
- It has become fashionable to communicate in Ukrainian in recent years. This shows not only that we belong to a certain nationality, but also that we are patriotic. Personally, I do not always speak Ukrainian, everything depends on the situation and the interlocutor. I think that in today's world a person should be able to communicate in Ukrainian. Not in all areas of life, but this ability should be. The knowledge of a native language is the key to the success of a contemporary person. In fact, I like Ukrainian very much, so I try to improve my language skills.
#the_best_faculty_in_the_galaxy congratulates everyone on the Day of Ukrainian Language and Writing and invites to join the radio dictation writing, which will start on Monday, November 9th at 9:00 a.m.
Karyna Chornobuk, a student of the group ZhT-81