The best book 2019

14.1.2020

The book “Treasures of Ukrainian Dialects: Texts About Borsch”, one of the responsible editors of which is Valentyna Lesnova, Associate Professor of LTSNU, is one of the best books of 2019.

In December 2019, the Ukrainian center of the international PEN club named among the best books of the year in the NON-FIXTION series a book “Treasures of Ukrainian Dialects: Texts About Borsch”, one of the responsible editors of which is a Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, the Acting Head of the Educational Department of LTSNU Valentyna Lesnova.

The collection of texts about borsch is a new page in Ukrainian dialectic textography. Records from different regions of Ukraine make it possible to fully present not only the features of cooking borsch – a culinary dish that has become one of the markers of Ukraine, but also its ritual significance.

The idea belongs to the famous Ukrainian philologist Natalia Khobzei, who wanted to do something that unites the whole of Ukraine. Such a unifying symbol was borsch.

The book presents texts recorded from the Luhansk region to Transcarpathia, reveals the secrets of cooking delicious borsch and explains the rituals of using it as a ritual dish. Authentic speech of the Ukrainian dialect continuum is presented: 162 texts from 150 dialects, 165 informants. Texts were written from people of different ages: the oldest informant is Ananii Rybchenko from the village of Maslovka in the Mironovsky district of Kyiv region, born in 1899, and the youngest are Olga Vovchok from the village of Kashtanovo of the Beregovskyi region and Tetiana Gotra from the village of Kostrino, Velikobereznianskyi district, Transcarpathian region, born in 1978 .

Well-known dialectologists, university professors, postgraduate students, school teachers, mother tongue lovers, students of philological departments from all over the country joined the collection of texts. Among them are teachers and students of our University: Marina Voloshinova, Iryna Borovenska, Yulia Panchenko, Iryna Kosogor, Alona Grinchenko, Yelyzaveta Ponomarenko, Liudmila Chernukha, Alina Siryk, Yulia Dybka, Artem Olkhova and Yulia Grechanik.

“All the main work was carried out in the Ukrainian Language Department of the Institute of Ukrainian Studies named after I. Kripyakevich of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Lviv). The book “Treasures of Ukrainian Dialects: Texts About Borsch” was published in the series “Dialectological Chest”. My colleague from Lviv Natalia Hibeba and I worked remotely online. We made this book, stitching Ukraine, I worked in Starobilsk city, and she worked in Lviv city.

The presentation took place at the Lviv Book Forum in September 2019. This event has become an important event for us. Next up are presentations at the International Scientific Conference “Dialect Temporary Space. To the Blessed Memory of Natalia Khobzei” (Lviv) and the All-Ukrainian Scientific-Practical Conference “Slobozhanska Beseda – 12ˮ (Starobilsk) ˮ,  Valentina Lesnova said.

We congratulate our colleague on this outstanding achievement and wish her new scientific and educational projects, creative success and inspiration to create outstanding finds of educational literature.

Viktoria Kalinina,
Press Center of LTSNU