Trasianka
Encyclopedia
Trasianka or trasyanka is a Belarusian
–Russian
mixed language
. It can also be described as a kind of interlanguage
. It is often labeled "pidgin" or even "creole", which is not correct by any widespread definition of pidgin
or creole language
. The motivation for labelling Trasianka as "pidgin" or a "creolized (language form)" (cf. Tsykhun, 2000) lies probably in the fact that the words "pidgin" and "creole" have pejorative, derogatory connotations (among non-experts) in Belarus. The word "trasianka" itself has pejorative connotations.
In Belarusian the word literally means low quality hay, when indigent farmers mix (shake: трасуць, trasuts) fresh grass with the yesteryear's dried hay. The word acquired the second meaning ("language mixture") relatively recently (probably around the time of the collapse of the USSR), although it had been already known as a phenomenon. Zianon Pazniak
is often said to be the one who has popularized the use of the word for the Belarusian-Russian language mixture (see Pozniak, 1988). However, not all inhabitants know its metaphorical meaning or even the word as such. In the Belarusian-Russian borderland, at least, the same phenomenon is not called "trasianka" (local population does not usually know the word). "Meshanka" is the expression most often used there instead of "trasianka" (this information is based on an interdisciplinary research carried out in the district of Horki
and Drybin in 2004).
The phenomenon of mixing the Belarusian and Russian language, which is nowadays called "Trasianka", is older than the name itself and has relatively long history. A piece of evidence can be found, for example, in the 19th-century play by Wincenty Dunin-Marcinkiewicz The Gentry of Pinsk (see the 1984 edition). Although it is a piece of art and not a record of everyday speech, it can be assumed that it reflects real language use (in certain situations with certain types of people) of that time. Reports on Belarusian-Russian language mixing can be found in various written documents from the beginning of the 20th century (e.g. in the Nasha Niva newspaper).
Trasianka is the kind of language typically spoken by villagers in Belarus
whose first acquired language is Belarusian, but who abandoned it in favor of Russian, seeing Russian as more "urban," "fashionable," or "civilized." Thus they ended up speaking this "mixture" (interlanguage
, see Liskovets, 2002). Trasianka may be heard also in the cities of Belarus
, where it is spoken by older and some middle-aged people, usually former migrants from villages to cities. Some educated (older or middle-aged) people, for example, the Belarusian president Lukashenko (esp. in the mid-1990s) or the minister of agriculture (observed in 2005) also speak trasianka. It seems that it is an unstable language formation, the spread of which might reduce in the future, as younger generations do not speak it.
There are certain social problems with speaking in Trasianka, especially the issue of generation gap that Trasianka and literary
Belarusian create between parents and children, and the rejection and alienation that has been experienced by some nationalistic activists who insist on using correct literary Belarusian. However, for other intellectuals whose education is connected to national culture (these are among philologists, linguists, historians, culturologists, ethnologists etc.), trasianka is not acceptable in formal communication either. Also in general it is valued low as a "spoiled", "corrupted" Belarusian or Russian. There are several comedians in Belarus (esp. Sasha and Sirozha) who use Trasianka in their comic skits.
Trasianka speakers use mostly Russian vocabulary, but preserve the phonetical features of Belarusian. Grammar seems to be combined, Belarusian-Russian. Although it does have its structural regularities, Trasianka is relatively variable and presents rather a linguistic continuum between Belarusian and Russian than a discrete linguistic system.
There is a similar sociolinguistic phenomenon in Ukraine
, an Ukrainian
–Russian language mixture that is called surzhyk
. Overall, trasianka was ignored by the mainstream linguists and sociologists in Belarus and abroad until the 1990s when the first articles which explicitly deal with trasianka started to appear (cf. the references below). In older linguistic literature, the phenomenon is dealt with under the heading "language cultivation" (kul'tura movy), "linguistic interference" etc.
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
–Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
mixed language
Mixed language
A mixed language is a language that arises through the fusion of two source languages, normally in situations of thorough bilingualism, so that it is not possible to classify the resulting language as belonging to either of the language families that were its source...
. It can also be described as a kind of interlanguage
Interlanguage
An interlanguage is an emerging linguistic system that has been developed by a learner of a second language who has not become fully proficient yet but is approximating the target language: preserving some features of their first language , or overgeneralizing target language rules in speaking or...
. It is often labeled "pidgin" or even "creole", which is not correct by any widespread definition of pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
or creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
. The motivation for labelling Trasianka as "pidgin" or a "creolized (language form)" (cf. Tsykhun, 2000) lies probably in the fact that the words "pidgin" and "creole" have pejorative, derogatory connotations (among non-experts) in Belarus. The word "trasianka" itself has pejorative connotations.
In Belarusian the word literally means low quality hay, when indigent farmers mix (shake: трасуць, trasuts) fresh grass with the yesteryear's dried hay. The word acquired the second meaning ("language mixture") relatively recently (probably around the time of the collapse of the USSR), although it had been already known as a phenomenon. Zianon Pazniak
Zianon Pazniak
Zianon Pazniak is a Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Christian Conservative Party of the BPF...
is often said to be the one who has popularized the use of the word for the Belarusian-Russian language mixture (see Pozniak, 1988). However, not all inhabitants know its metaphorical meaning or even the word as such. In the Belarusian-Russian borderland, at least, the same phenomenon is not called "trasianka" (local population does not usually know the word). "Meshanka" is the expression most often used there instead of "trasianka" (this information is based on an interdisciplinary research carried out in the district of Horki
Horki
Horki is a city in the Mahiloŭ Province of Belarus, an administrative center of the Horki district. Horki district is situated in the North-East part of Mahiloŭ province. It was formed on 17 July 1924. It occupies 1284 km² and its population is about 52.6 thousand of people. The district is...
and Drybin in 2004).
The phenomenon of mixing the Belarusian and Russian language, which is nowadays called "Trasianka", is older than the name itself and has relatively long history. A piece of evidence can be found, for example, in the 19th-century play by Wincenty Dunin-Marcinkiewicz The Gentry of Pinsk (see the 1984 edition). Although it is a piece of art and not a record of everyday speech, it can be assumed that it reflects real language use (in certain situations with certain types of people) of that time. Reports on Belarusian-Russian language mixing can be found in various written documents from the beginning of the 20th century (e.g. in the Nasha Niva newspaper).
Trasianka is the kind of language typically spoken by villagers in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
whose first acquired language is Belarusian, but who abandoned it in favor of Russian, seeing Russian as more "urban," "fashionable," or "civilized." Thus they ended up speaking this "mixture" (interlanguage
Interlanguage
An interlanguage is an emerging linguistic system that has been developed by a learner of a second language who has not become fully proficient yet but is approximating the target language: preserving some features of their first language , or overgeneralizing target language rules in speaking or...
, see Liskovets, 2002). Trasianka may be heard also in the cities of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, where it is spoken by older and some middle-aged people, usually former migrants from villages to cities. Some educated (older or middle-aged) people, for example, the Belarusian president Lukashenko (esp. in the mid-1990s) or the minister of agriculture (observed in 2005) also speak trasianka. It seems that it is an unstable language formation, the spread of which might reduce in the future, as younger generations do not speak it.
There are certain social problems with speaking in Trasianka, especially the issue of generation gap that Trasianka and literary
Literary language
A literary language is a register of a language that is used in literary writing. This may also include liturgical writing. The difference between literary and non-literary forms is more marked in some languages than in others...
Belarusian create between parents and children, and the rejection and alienation that has been experienced by some nationalistic activists who insist on using correct literary Belarusian. However, for other intellectuals whose education is connected to national culture (these are among philologists, linguists, historians, culturologists, ethnologists etc.), trasianka is not acceptable in formal communication either. Also in general it is valued low as a "spoiled", "corrupted" Belarusian or Russian. There are several comedians in Belarus (esp. Sasha and Sirozha) who use Trasianka in their comic skits.
Trasianka speakers use mostly Russian vocabulary, but preserve the phonetical features of Belarusian. Grammar seems to be combined, Belarusian-Russian. Although it does have its structural regularities, Trasianka is relatively variable and presents rather a linguistic continuum between Belarusian and Russian than a discrete linguistic system.
There is a similar sociolinguistic phenomenon in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, an Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
–Russian language mixture that is called surzhyk
Surzhyk
Surzhyk refers to a range of russified sociolects of Ukrainian used in certain regions of Ukraine and adjacent lands. It does not possess any unifying set of characteristics; the term is used for "norm-breaking, non-obedience to or nonawareness of the rules of the Ukrainian and Russian standard...
. Overall, trasianka was ignored by the mainstream linguists and sociologists in Belarus and abroad until the 1990s when the first articles which explicitly deal with trasianka started to appear (cf. the references below). In older linguistic literature, the phenomenon is dealt with under the heading "language cultivation" (kul'tura movy), "linguistic interference" etc.
See also
- SurzhykSurzhykSurzhyk refers to a range of russified sociolects of Ukrainian used in certain regions of Ukraine and adjacent lands. It does not possess any unifying set of characteristics; the term is used for "norm-breaking, non-obedience to or nonawareness of the rules of the Ukrainian and Russian standard...
- West PolesianWest Polesian languageThe West Polesian language or dialect is spoken in Southeastern Belarus, in Northwestern Ukraine and in the bordering regions of Poland. It is also considered as one of the Slavic microlanguages, in effect a transitional language between the Ukrainian and the Belarusian.West Polesian is mostly...
- a transitional dialect between Ukrainian and Belarusian. - Russenorsk