Trade and Economic Vocabulary in the Ukrainian Language of the 14th - 18th Centuries.

Abstract

The thesis is devoted to the analysis of Ukrainian trade and economic vocabulary of the 14th – 18th centuries.

The trade and economic vocabulary in the Ukrainian language has not yet been the subject of a separate study, although it constitutes a significant part of the language vocabulary.

After analysing the trade and economic vocabulary from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, the following lexico-semantic division of this lexical system was developed: currency nomination, e.g. гарель, гривна, грош, дукать, злотий, копа, пенязь, роубль, таляр; nomination of metrology units related to economics and trade, e.g. аршин, бочка, вантух, вєдро, вимер, кадь, камень, мирка, сажень, цетнар; taxes and customs duties nomination, e.g. вага, вимелокь, дань, мито, поплать, посадь, промито; nomination of trade and economic relations participants, e.g. коморникь, купець, митник, посадникь, торговець; nomination of trade and economic institutions and establishments, e.g. комора, корчма, мєсто, митница, скарб, складь, ярмарокь; nomination of trade and economic transactions and actions, e.g. арендувати, доходь, закладь, заложити, заплатити, заставляти, кошт, купувати, промитити.

Among the names of monetary units recorded in the written documents of the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, most of the lexemes designating currency belong to the borrowed vocabulary, nevertheless authentic Ukrainian ones are also found. In the analysed texts, borrowings constitute 72 %, whereas native vocabulary comprises 28 %.

The majority of units denoting weight and length, found in the written documents of the 14th – 18th centuries, are represented by borrowed lexemes (51 %). It is noteworthy that some of them continue functioning in modern Ukrainian (both literary and spoken), however most of them are of native origin (48 %). In addition, the group under study also includes words of undetermined origin.

The lexico-semantic group denoting customs duties and taxes reflects the development of socio-economic relations from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Among customs duties and taxes names, the most productive lexico-semantic groups are a) general and b) special. General units comprise nomination of monetary penalties originating from basic taxation units. Special vocabulary, depending on the objects of taxation, includes a) designations of customs taxes originating from corresponding goods names, b) designations of customs taxes originating from words denoting ways of the goods delivery and c) fixed monetary taxes.

Semantic motivation of the units under study is on the whole transparent, since the nomination can on the one hand be predetermined by the product traded and on the other hand by the object of taxation. A significant number of lexemes entering this group belong to native vocabulary (54 %), however a big group is also derived from the borrowed roots by adding roots and morphemes of native origin (44,5 %). The number of compound tax names coined of two native components (1 %) and borrowed words (0,5 %) is rather insignificant.

It is established that among the units denoting the participants of the trading process and economic relations, the majority of words are of Proto-Slavic and ancient Ukrainian origin (59 %), with the number of borrowed lexemes yet being quite significant (38 %). Within the lexemes entering this group, it is possible to distinguish compound nouns and words of undetermined origin. A significant part of the units under discussion is derived from lexemes denoting the person’s working place or from the words pointing to the action performed.

The group of words denoting trade and economic institutions comprise names of buildings where goods are stored, and names of locations and premises where trade is conducted. The major part of the lexemes belong to the borrowed vocabulary (69 %), the number of native words in this lexico-thematic group is relatively insignificant (31 %).

From the point of view of the lexemes’ origin, each lexico-semantic group is not homogeneous. Among the units under analysis the bigger part of the words is of native origin (54 %); however, the amount of borrowings is also rather significant (33 %); less common are the derived words which originate from the borrowed lexeme (11 %); even less numerous are compound words where both components are of the native Ukrainian origin (1.6 %); the least number of lexemes is of undetermined origin (0.4 %).

Four ways of derivation within the group of Ukrainian trade and economic names have been identified, i.e. morphological (58 %), lexico-syntactic (41 %), lexicosemantic (0,6 %), and morpho-syntactic (0,4%).

Trade and economic vocabulary of the period under study formed a lexicothematic group, which represents one of the most important areas of the human activities. Economic and commercial vocabulary has evolved from common words which acquired their specialised meanings in the course of historical socio-economic development.

Eventually, it is determined that specialised vocabulary is an open system which constantly evolves and expands its functional status. The nature of the changes within this group demonstrates a progressive development, i.e. the tendency to further standardisation of the trade and economy language.