On the Research Trip to Western Bryansk Region in the Summer of 2012

P. A. Ambrasovich

In the second half of June 2012, the author undertook a research trip to the western districts of the Bryansk Oblast with the aim of determining the linguistic composition of the local population, or more precisely, its linguistic foundation. The respondents chosen were people of retirement age whose parents were also local residents. I was most interested in the presence and depth of territorial penetration of the Ukrainian language into the area under study, which directly borders the Ukrainian Chernihiv Oblast.

Section 1.

As the basis for my survey questionnaire, I took the “Short Program for Collecting Features of Russian Dialects” (published in the “Proceedings of the Moscow Dialectological Commission.” Issue 1. Warsaw. 1908). Individual points from the “Program for Collecting Information Necessary for Compiling a Dialectological Map of the Russian Language” (“Proceedings of the MDC. Issue 2. Warsaw. 1910) were also taken into account.

Piatro Ambrasovich

Below I present the text of my questionnaire. But first, some explanations. I omit the part of the questionnaire with pronunciation variants completely uncharacteristic of the area under study, since after 2-3 survey attempts I saw the pointlessness of giving people such pronunciation options. This will significantly simplify the presentation of the material today.

These are pronunciations of the type: (Ts, Ch) — Tsar, Char, i.e. the variant “char” is not even understood by people; (Ts, Ch)erkov, (Ch, Ts)yajku and similar ones. I present everything to the reader in Russian, for better understanding of the material by both Ukrainians and Belarusians (in the Republic of Belarus — Belarusians, P. A.). A good consultant before the trip was the excellent native speaker and connoisseur of the Ukrainian language — throughout the entire Ukrainian Republic — the respected cultural worker in St. Petersburg, Valentyn Vladimirovich Ivashchenko. I take responsibility for knowledge of the Belarusian language myself, as I am a native speaker, think in it, and in Petersburg studied its classical variant.

I traveled by bicycle through the villages of 12 districts; for brevity I will name them here by district centers: Zlynka, Klimovo, Starodub, Pogar, Pochep, Mglin, Unecha, Surazh, Klintsy, Gordeyevka, Krasnaya Gora and Novozybkov. On this trip I did not go to Kletnya — to “settle the dispute” of professors E. Budde and E. Karsky about the Belarusianness of the west of Oryol Province (100 years ago). I paid primary attention to the border area with the Ukrainian Republic.

Now I give a line-by-line presentation of my questionnaire (for convenience of printing). Variants of phoneme pronunciation, sounds, and letter combinations will be given in parentheses. I give you first the Ukrainian pronunciation, then the Belarusian one. For subsequent analysis of recordings before readers, I am forced to number my entire questionnaire here. Mechanical repetitions of surveyed words in the original questionnaire I replace with expanded pronunciation variants and references.

Here now before you is “my” questionnaire (everywhere in the questionnaire it is the p r o n u n c i a t i o n of words, not their national spelling):

1. V(o,a)da — voda; vada. V(o,y)da — 3. Kh(o,a)dit’ — khodyty; khadzi’t’. B(o,a)soj — bosyj; bosy. T(o,a)por — toper, sokera; tapor, siakera. 2. S(e,yo,i,ya)lo — selo, sylo (rarer); sialo. Stress in the word will be indicated with the usual mark — acute accent ( ), sometimes the letter will be bold. S(e,i)lo — 22. V(e,yo,i,ya)sna — vesna; viasna.

T(e,yo,i,ya)plo — a*)** teplo [for a person], b) teplo [in a radiator]; tsiopla, tiaplo. See 19.*

3. N(o,y)oga — noha; naha.

Sk(a,y)zat’ — skazaty, skazat’; skazat’.

G(o,y)l(o,y)va — holova; halava. It is easier for professionals to compile questionnaires than for me — after all, I do not have a philological education. 4. S(e,i)ni — syny; seni. M(e,i)rit’ — miriaty; meryt’. P(e,i)snia — pisnia; pes’nia. L(e,i)to — lyto; leta. 5. Gr(ya,e)z’ — griaz’; hraz’. See 21 and 27. D(ya,e)dia — diad’ko; dziadzia, dziadz’ka. 6. (V,U)dova — vdova; udava. (V,U)nuk — onuk; unuk. The keyboard is insufficient for printing, I mark here short u as — w. De(v,w)ka — divka; dze wka. Kro(v’,w) — krov; krow. See also 9. (U,V)mer — pomer, vmer (rarer); pamiur. 7. Dru(g,kh,k) — tovarysh; druh, siabra, tavarysh. Ro(g,kh,k) — rih; roh. Sapo(g,kh,k) — chybit; bot. 8. [He] khodi(t,t’) — khodyty; khodz’it’. Nesio(t,t’) — nese; niasie, niasiet’. Daiu(t,t’) — daiut’; daiut’. Sidia(t,t’) — sydiat’; siadziat’, sidziat’. 9. Kro(v’,f’,f,w) — krov; krow. Liubo(v’,f’,f,w) — liubov, kokhan’nie (rarer); liubow, kakhan’nie. Se(m’,m) — sym; sem. 10. (Ch,Ts)ej, (Ch,Ts)etyre etc. — I omit. See: tsar, tserkov’ (explanations). 11. Ch(i,y)n — chyn; chyn. Molch(i,y) — movchy; mawchy. Ch(i,y)sto — chysto; chysta. 12. Van’(ka,kia), Pomalen’(ku,kiu) etc. — also omitted. Completely uncharacteristic pronunciation for the region. 13. T(i,y)kho — tykho; tikha. T(i,y)kho — 24. (T,Ts)ikho — 19. L(i,y)kho — lykho; zukhavata, khvatska, likha (noun). Gospod(i,y)n — hospodar, khaziajin (Kyiv region); panove, pan, spadar. S(i,y)nij — synyj; sini. D(e,e)n’gi — hroshi; hroshy. T(e,e)p(e,e)r’ — teper; zaraz, tsiaper. D(e,e)r(e,e)vo — derevo; dreva, dierava. B(e,e)r(yo,e)za — bereza; biaroza. 14. P(o,u)p [priest] — pip; pop. P(o,i)p — 15. Mn(o,uo)go — bahato; mnoha. K(o,uo)n’ — kin’; kon’. S(o,u)l’ — sil’; sol’. 15. D(o,i)m — dim, budynok, budivlia; dom, khata. N(o,i)zhka — nizhka; nozhka. N(o,i)s — nis; nos. 16. D(e,i)d — did; dzied. D(ev,iw)ka — divka; dzewka. L(e,i)s — lis; lies. T(e,i)sto — tisto; tiesta. M(e,i)ra — mira; miera. 17. Svi(n’,nn)ia — svynia; s’vinn’ia. Su(d’,dd)ia — suddia; sudz’dzia. Be(l’,ll)io — belyzna; bializna, bial’lio. 18. R(o,y)iu — ryiu; ryiu. M(o,y)iu — myiu; myiu. M(o,y)iut — 28. Slep(o,y)j — slipyj; s’liapy. Khud(o,y)j — khudyj; khudy. P(e,i,y)j — pyj; pi. Sh(e,y)ia — shyia; shyia. Short sh(e,y)ia — 28. Short; karotkaia. 19. (T,Ts)ikho — see 13. (T,Ts)eplo — see 2. Nosi(t,ts)’ — nosyty; nasit’. 20. Dobr(ovo,ova,aha) — dobroho; dobraha. G(o,a)riach(ego,eva,iha) — hariachoho; harachaha. Slep(ovo,ova,oha) — slipoho; s’liapoga. 21. Tsar(ia,a) — tsaria; tsara. Gr(ia,a)z’ — griaz’, bahno; hraz’. Gr(ia,a)z’ — 27. Kur(iu,u) — kuriu, smaliu; kuru, paliu. Star(i,y)k — did, staryj; stary. 22. P(e,i)sok — pisok; piasok. Se(ia,i)t’ — siiaty; sieiat’. R(e,i,a)ka — rika; raka. R(e,a)ka — 27. 23. (F,Khv)iodor — Fedir, Khvedir (dialect); Khvedar. (F,Khv)ilip(p) — Pylyp (Filia — another name); Khvilip, Pilip. 24. Kar(ti,ty)na — kartyna, polotno; kartsina. (Vi,vy)no — vyno; vino. (Pi,py)vo — pyvo; piva. 25. Uz(de,de)chka — uzdechka; abrot’, vuzdziechka. (Se,se)r(d)tse — sertse; sertsa. (Ve,ve)rno — virno; slushna, vierna [or] addana. U(me,me)rli — pomerli; pamiorli. 26. (Mi,me,me)n(ia,i) net doma — mene ne maie doma; mianie niama doma. T(o,ie,ae,oe) okno — te vikno; toe akno. 27. Pr(ia,a)nik — a) pechyvo, b) rubel’; a) piernik, b) pranik. Pr(ia,a)mo — priamo; prosta, prama. Gor(a,ia) — hora; hara. Pr(a,ia)vda — pravda; prawda. Gr(a,ia)nitsa — kordon, mezha; miazha, hranitsa (not “predel”). Star(a,ia)t’sia — staratysia; staratstsa, rupitsttsa (rarer). Makhat’ topor(o,io)m — makhat’ sokyroiu, topirom (West. Ukr.); makhat’ siakeraj, taparom. 28. R(y,i)ba — ryba; ryba. Kr(o,y)iut dom — kryiut’ dym; kryiut’ dom, khatu. 29. D(o,a)m(a,y) — budynky; damy. Gorod(a,y) — mista; harady. Rukav(a,y) — rukava; rukavy. L(e,ia)s(a,y) — lisy; liasy. 30. See 8. Soldat id(iot, et’) — soldat ide; saldat, zhawnier idze. Kury khod(iat, iat’) — kury khodiat’; kury khodiat’, khodziiat’. Iaitsa nesu(t,t’) — iajtsia nesut’; iajki niasut’. Sinitsy sidia(t,t’) — synytsi sydiat’; sinitsy siadziat’. And finally, checking stress placement in words. 31. Ruku — ruku; ruku. Nogu — nohu; nahu. Na zemliu — na zemliu; na ziamliu. Pod goru — [pid horu]; [pad haru]. About the meaning of the expression — below. Prostoj mekhanizm — prosty mekhanizm; prosty mekhanizm, mekhanizm. Zanial mesto — zajniav, zakhopyv misto; zaniaw miestsa. [He] prinial gostia — vin pryjniav hostia; [ion] pryniau hos’tia. Bylo kholodno — bulo [ ]; bylo [ ]. Ona spala — vona spala; iana spala. Chto govorish’ — shcho kazhash; shto kazhash, havorysh.

And so, my survey.

Village of Deniskovichi, Zlynka district. Descendant of Cossacks, Ivan Trofimovich Bespalov. To which Cossacks his ancestors trace back (Ural? Siberian? — excuse me, P. A.) — he does not know, but definitely not to the Zaporozhian ones. In conversation this was confirmed by him repeatedly.

1. Voda. Khadit’. Basoj. Tapor.
2. Selo. Vesna. Teplo.
3. Voda. Naga. Skazat’. Galava.
4. Sentsy. Merit’. Pes’nia. Leto.
5. Griaz’. Diadia, diad’ko. Miach (in Ukrainian — m’iach). Piat’ (in Ukrainian — p’iat’).
6. Vdova. Vnuk. Dewka. Krov’. Umer.
7. Drug. Rog(h). Sapog(h).
8. Khodit. Nesiot. Daiut (in the village they also say: daiut’). Sidiat.
9. Krof, but in my draft it is crossed out. It seems the pronunciation is not single-variant. Excuse me — field working conditions: I recorded what I could.

Liubov. Sem.

10. Tsar’. Tserkov’. Kuritsa. Chej. Chajku. Chetyre. Zachem. Vchera.
11. Chin. Molchi. Chisto.
12. Chajku. Van’ka. Pomalen’ku.
13. Tikho. Likho. Gospodin. Sinij. Den’gi. Teper’. Derevo. Berioza.
14. Pop. Mnogo. Kon’. Sol’.
15. Dom. Pop. Nozhka. Nos.
16. Ded. Devka. Les. Testo. Mera. 17-25. Obviously I skipped 1 page of the questionnaire draft during the conversation. We were also comparing the mentality of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The longest survey and the most patient respondent.
17. Menia net doma. To okno.
18. Griaz’. Prianik. Pranik dereviannyi. Reka. Priamo. Gora. Pravda. Granitsa. Staratssa. Toporom.
19. Ryba. Kryiut — in the early 20th c. (from parents); kroiut. Myiut (the window) — in the early 20th c.; moiut. Shyia (it used to be); sheia.
20. Dama, doma. Goroda. Rukavy (it was considerably earlier); rukava. Liasy (it was considerably earlier); lesa. Previously Belarus reached to Unecha, Pochep — according to I. T. Bespalov.
21. Soldat idiot (previously — idet’). Kury khodiat (previously — khodiat’). Iaitsa nesut. Sinitsy sidiat (previously there was also soft pronunciation).
22. Ruku, ruku. Nagu. There are no Ukrainians in the vicinity — according to the respondent. Na zemliu, na zemliu. Pod goru. A few words about the expression — P. A. From my own experience, I (the author) became convinced that for residents of Russia this phrase means “moving downhill, toward the base of the hill,” while for Ukrainians and Belarusians it means “moving uphill, overcoming it.” For I. T. Bespalov the phrase means “moving downhill.” Prostoj mekhanizm. Zanial mesto (previously — zaniaw). Prinial gostia. Bylo kholodno. Ona spala, less often: ona spala. Govorish’, govorish’.

My interlocutor considers himself a Russian citizen (“People were afraid to register as Belarusians”). To the reader: in Russian and Ukrainian the word “blago” means “good,” “well,” and carries a positive meaning. In Belarusian (from Lithuanian blogas — bad, poor, thin; synonyms: prastas — simple; poor, bad, weak, unimportant; also: netikes — unfit, unsuitable) — it means “bad,” “poor,” with o n l y a negative meaning. Let those responsible for incorrect translation of Orthodox religious terms be the translators; it should be: dabraveshchan’nie, dabradziej, dabramysny. In Belarusian “blagoj” means durny, shaliony (“mad”); “goodwill” — lahodnasts’, “quality” — dykhtownasts’.

Starodub

According to respondent I. T. Bespalov, in their area instead of the word “blagopoluchie” (prosperity) people do not say “dabrabyt,” they use the word “blagorodno,” i.e. terminology with the root “blago” is purely Russian. This was the first attempt to study the use of the root “blago” in the Gomel-Bryansk border area — P. A.

In the Klimovo district I visited the villages of Churovichi and Solovyovka. Workers at the central library in Klimovo recommended I visit the villages of Old and New Yurkovichi, Sachkovichi. Ukrainian families can be found in the villages of Khoromnoe and Brakhlov. I will deal with the analysis in my presentation below.

Old Believers live in Churovichi. Here I met with two elderly women (who had previously worked in the library and school — Valentina Petrovna Chuvanko and Ekaterina Makarovna Kudriavtseva), and clarified the settlement of Ukrainians in the area (the information was the same — families in the named villages, no more than that, actually). Since Old Believers in general are not the autochthonous, ancestral population of the region — I went to Solovyovka. And here I was “very lucky”: at the local secondary school, the teachers offered me the chance to give the children a lecture about Belarus and its history — based on the materials I had brought. Naturally, I conducted the talk in the Belarusian language. The children, aged about 10-11, listened attentively. Which means they also understood. My “talk” was completely incomprehensible to one young teacher — as I had expected, she turned out to be originally from Eastern Bryansk Region. But she arranged for the children to translate and retell everything to her. Such an “initiative” was, however, not welcomed by the woman who approached — the school director. No further acquaintance followed, but this is no longer related to the topic of my research.

Here is the subsequent survey: Ulyana Mikhailovna Peven, grandmother of one of the school’s students.

1. Vada. Khadit’. Bosy. Tapor.
2. Sialo. Vesna. Tsiopla; tiaplo.
3. Naha. Skazat’. Halava.
4. Seni. Meriat’. Pes’nia. Leto.
5. Griaz’. Diadia. Miach. Piat’.
6. Udava. Vnuk. Dewka. Krow. Umior.
7. Drug. Rog. Sapog. Not marked, but obviously — voiceless “g,” h.
8. Khodit’. Niase. Daiut. Sidiat’.
9. Liubow. Sem.
10. Tsar’. Tserkov’. Kuritsa. Chej. Chajku. Chatyry. Zachem. Vchera. There is hard “ch.”
11. Chyn. Mawchy. Ch(i-y)sto — here intermediate sound.
12. Chajku. Van’ka. Pomalen’ku.
13. Tikha. Likha. Gospodin. Sinij. Den’gi. Teper’. Dereva. Berioza.
14. Pop. Mnogo. Kon’. Sol’.
15. Dom. Pop. Nozhka. Nos.
16. Ded. Dewka. Les. Testa. Mera.
17. Svinn’ia. Suddia. Bel’io.
18. Ryiu. Moiu. S’liapy. Khudoj. Pej. Shyia.
19. Skipped by me during the survey — shortcomings of the draft.
20. Dobraha. Haracheho. S’liapoga.
21. Tsaria. Griaz’. Kuriu. Staryk.
22. Sialo. Piasok. Seiat’. Reka.
23. Khviodar. Khvilip.
24. Kartina. Tikho. Vino. Pivo.
25. Uzdechka. Sertse. Verno. Umerli.
26. Menia net doma. Toe okno.
27. Griaz’. Prianik. Reka. Priamo. Gora. Pravda. Granitsa. Starat’sia. Makhat’ toporom.
28. Ryba. Kryiut. Moiut okno. Sheia.
29. Dama. Harada. Rukava. Lesa.
30. Soldat idiot. Kury khodiat’. Niasut iajtsa. Ptitsy sidiat’.
31. Ruku. Nahu. Na zemliu. Pad haru. Prosty mekhanizm. Zanial mesto. Prinial. Bylo khaladna. Ona spala. Chto govorish’.

Ulyana Mikhailovna has not heard the term “litviny” (Litvins) among the local population in her 80 years. Ulyana Mikhailovna’s surname — Peven — is, as can be seen, Belarusian. For in Ukrainian it would be — Piven. Note (from memory). I believe it was in the Klimovo district that I was told that the overwhelming majority of today’s Ukrainians in the Bryansk region arrived here during Soviet times.

Let us also pay attention to the names of settlements. In the Klimovo district, any Belarusian would be interested in the etymology of the “names”: Vaha, Hukov, Khalupovka, Vialikia Pozhni (*), Arininy Liady (*), Velikogajskij, Chornaia Krynitsa, Krasnyia Liady (*), Zabrama, Istopki (*), Krushinnik. Judge for yourself. Author’s note — for the Zlynka district, however, there is nothing for me to highlight here. Since the Ukrainian and Belarusian languages are similar, here I [and further] mark names representing: (*) — purely Belarusian interest, (~) — preferentially Belarusian interest.

The next “point” of my research turned out to be the village of Voronok, already in the Starodub district. Old Believers live here. For comparative analysis I decided to survey one of the local residents. And so, Old Believer Ivan Isaakovich Zherebtsov. His paternal grandfather was a Bessarabian Cossack.

1. Voda. Khodit’. Bosyj. Tapor.
2. Selo. Vesna. Tioplo; teplo.
3. Naha. Skazat’. Golova.
4. Sentsy. Merit’. Pes’nia. Leto.
5. Griaz’. Diadia. Miach. Piat’.
6. Vdova. Vnuk. Devka. Krov. Umer, pamiur.
7. Druh. Rog. Sapog. [Everywhere — voiceless “g”, h].
8. Khodit. Nesiot. Daiut. Sidiat.
9. Krov. Liubov. Sem.
10. Tsar’. Tserkov’, tserква. Kuritsa. Chej. Chajku. Chetyre. Zachem. Vchera.
11. Chin. Molchi. Chisto.
12. Van’ka. Pomalen’ku.
13. Tikho. Likho. Gospodin. Sinij. Den’gi. Teper’. Derevo. Berioza.
14. Pop. Mnogo. Kon’. Sol’.
15. Dom. Pop. Nozhka. Nos.
16. Ded. Devka. Les. Testo. Mera.
17. Svin’ia. Sud’ia. Bel’io.
18. Roiu. Moiu. Slepoj, slepyj. Khudoj. Pej. Sheia.
19. Tikho. Teplo. Nosit’.
20. Dobrova, dobreho. Hariacheva. Slepova.
21. Tsaria. Griaz’. Kuriu. Starik.
22. Selo. Pesok. Seit’. Reka.
23. Fiodor. Filipp. In the villages — Khviodar, Khvilip.
24. Kartina. Tikho. Vino. Pivo.
25. Uzdechka. Sertse. Verno. Umerli.
26. Menia net. To okno.
27. Griaz’. Prianik; valiek. Reka. Priamo. Gora. Pravda. Granitsa. Starat’sia. Makhat’ toporom.
28. Ryba. Kroiut dom. Moiut. Sheia.
29. Doma. Goroda. Rukava. Lesa.
30. Soldat idiot. Kury khodiat. Iajtsa nesut. Sinitsy sidiat.
31. Ruku. Nogu. Na zemliu. Pod goru. “Pod goru” means “uphill.” There is the word “punia.” “Blago” means “good.” Prostoj mekhanizm. Zanial mesto — that is how they used to say it, now they say — zanial. Prinial, prinial gostia. Bylo, bylo kholodno. Ona spala. Chto govorish’.

From the Old Believers I went further to the village of Ponurovka. Here, admittedly, I had to make acquaintance with the Starodub border guards. The village is 9 km from the Ukrainian border. While waiting for the border patrol, I chatted with Mikhail Mikhailovich Dudko. A local, one of the old-timers of the village.

According to him, the term “litviny” (Litvins) possibly does occur in the area. But (as I understood, P. A.) it is not commonly heard here.

1. Voda. Khodit’. Bosoj. Tapor.
2. Selo. Viasna. Teplo.
3. Voda. Noga. Skazat’. Halava.
4. Seni. Merit’. Pes’nia. Leto.
5. Griaz’. Diadia. Miach. Piat’.
6. Vdova. Vnuk. Devka. Krov’? Here ”?” means, it seems, approximate transliteration of the pronounced word. Umer.
7. Druh. Rokh. Sapokh.
8. Khodit. Nesiot. Daiut. Sidiat.
9. Krov’. Liubow. Sem’.
10. Tsar’. Tserkov’. Kuritsa. Chej. Chiajku. Chetyre. Zachem. Vchera.
11. Chin. Molchi. Chisto.
12. Chiajku. Van’ka. Pomalen’ku.
13. Tikho. Likho. Gospodin. Sinij. Den’gi. Teper’. Derevo. Berioza.
14. Pop. Mnogo. Kon’. Sol’.
15. Dom, khata. Pop. Nozhka. Nos.
16. Ded. Devka. Les. Testo. Mera.
17. Svin’ia. Sud’ia. Bel’io.