Balachka
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Balachka (Russian and Ukrainian: балачка) is a term given to label the Cossack dialects of Russian language, which have Ukrainian influences, particularly those that are spoken in the regions of Kuban, and Don regions. The term's usage however has since broadened to label all of the dialects that the Cossacks speak irrespective of their origin such as those living on the Terek, Ural and further out into Asiatic Russia and Central Asia.
Originally the term means in Ukrainian to babble, and was originally introduced into the Russian language as a collective term to describe the dialects of the above Cossacks groups. For the Don Cossacks this was due to their historical proximity to Ukraine, and for the Kuban Cossacks due to them being descendants of the Black Sea Cossacks, as such there is strong variation between the different Balachkas between the two groups. In addition the Kuban Cossacks have three separate dialects, one is the Black-Sea Cossack group spoken in the Taman peninsula which holds the strongest Ukrainian influence (although at present it too is considered more closer to Russian than Ukrainian), the second is the Mountainous regions of the Forecaucasus, where due to historical interactions with the Circassians influence of their language can also be found in the accent and vocabulary.
Some linguists characterize Balachka vernacular as a dialect or group of dialects. Balachka does not appear as a separate language on any language codes. Nevertheless, some Cossacks consider it to be a separate language and at least one academic case has been made in this regard.[1]
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[edit] Varieties
[edit] Don Balachka
The historical closeness of the Don Cossacks with Ukraine led to mutual exchange of communication methods, between the two peoples. Itself the Don Cossacks are the oldest group known to exist, dating to the 13th century. The Don Balachka is known for its soft sounds, for example идти idti (to walk) is said as итить itit', as extensively shown in Mikhail Sholokhov's literature.
[edit] Kuban-Black Sea Balachka
The most significant instance of Balachka is the Kuban-Black Sea Balachka. Originally starting as a Ukrainian language by the Black Sea Cossacks who moved to the Kuban in 1792, it is thought that this was where the term Balachka was introduced into the Russian language, which in Ukrainian means "to babble". The standard Russian literary language was quite different from the local dialect, in which the Cossacks Balakayut.
Over the years in the realities of the Kuban life, and the Caucasus War the language began to sufficiently differ from Ukrainian, and acquire a more Russian flavor in both vocabulary and grammar, as suggested by Viktor Zakharchenko who based who points to the local folk songs dating to early and mid-19th century.[2]. Although during the 1897 Russian census it was still considered close enough to Little Russian language to be classified as such rather than the Great Russian that other Balachkas were labeled as. (See further down on the political aspects of this particular dialect)
[edit] Mountain Balachka
This Balachka differs uniquely from the other Cossack vernaculars in its free use of various Circassian terms, particularly from modern Adygeya[3]. This is explained that as Russia made progress in its conquest of the Northern Caucasus there was intensive interaction with the indigenous Circassian peoples, that resulted in their influence of Cossack dialect, but also in many cultural items such as dress, music, dance and cuisine. Further south Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol is the traditional home of the former Caucasus Line Cossack Host, their accent has even more Circassian influence, and is thus considered a balachka not by the initial definition of having Ukrainian influence (which it has not) but due to the term being becoming applied universally to all Cossack dialects. This is also true to the Vainakh and Avar influenced dialect of the Terek Cossacks, sometimes also being referred to as a Balachka.
[edit] Modern Usage
It is not known how widespread the use of Balachka is. Education and strict requirements of the Russian Academy of Sciences mean that local press such as TV and radio adhere to standard Russian, with a notable exception for historical films (particularly those involving Cossacks) and Folk music groups and ensembles, such as the Kuban Cossack Chorus[2].
As a result there has been a gradual erosion of authentic dialects and accents, with unique terms being slowly replaced by standard Russian ones. This is particularly noticeable in the younger generations. At the same time, the recent re-awakening of the Cossacks was often done with enthusiasm to old traditions. It is thus not surprising that many Cossacks use vocabulary from Balachka (or some of its elements) in their speech to punctuate their Cossack heritage and/or affiliation.
[edit] Political aspects
Political aspects have played a direct role in the classification of the Kuban Balachka. Although this Balachka was initially officially classified as a dialect of the Little Russian language (the official term for the Ukrainian language) [4], and some Ukrainian sources actively support the idea of Balachka being a dialect of the Ukrainian language, this has been contested by Russian linguistic research,[5] and many of the Kuban Cossacks themselves, who point out that already by the 1860s there was already a separate dialect that morphed out of Ukrainian and Russian.[2].
- See also: Ukrainians in Kuban
[edit] See also
- Surzhyk - the use of Russian words on a Ukrainian grammar matrix.
- Russenorsk - a pidgin language that combines elements of Russian and Norwegian
- Diglossia - a situation of parallel usage of two closely-related languages, one of which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and the other one is usually the spoken informally
[edit] References
- ^ James B. Minahan 2000 Greenwood Press One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups, Kuban Cossacks p. 384 ISBN 0313309841 Retrieved 10 December 2007
- ^ a b c Viktor Zakharchenko, Folk songs of the Kuban, 1997 Retrieved 07 November 2007
- ^ L.V. Barykina Development of the Cossack military colonization on the Caucasus line 1790-1860s, 16.01.2007 Hosted at Heku.ru Retrieved November 07, 2007
- ^ Demoscope.ru, 1897 census results for the Kuban Oblast
- ^ Literaturnaya Rossiya, Flag of the Kuban by N.Litvinov, 06.07.2001, Retrieved 07 November 2007
