AGE AND GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN USING THE LANGUAGE IN THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC TRADITION: UKRAINIAN PERSPECTIVE

• Published in: Visnyk Kyïvsʹkoho linhvistychnoho universytetu. Serii͡a︡ filolohii͡a Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 31 - 42
• Main Author: Т. О. ФУДЕРЕР
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 26.12.2019
• ISSN: 2311-0821; 2415-7333
• DOI: 10.32589/2311-0821.2.2019.192100

Introduction. In sociolinguistics, age is a linguistically relevant biosocial parameter regarding the fact that the representatives of different groups use language means in various ways; they are characterized by unequal attitudes in the assesment of language facts. Therefore, the age range in a sociolinguistic analysis is the one that enables the process of language changes and language development to be recorded, which needs to serve as the basis in the formation of the language state policy.Purpose. The paper aims to make the sociolinguistic analysis of differences in using the language means by representatives of different age groups in Ukrainian perspective.Methods. The investigation is grounded on the methods of sociolinguistic analysis as well as empirical studies of functioning the language in Ukraine through the period of 2000 taking into consideration the groups of people of different age.Results. Age differences have been the subject of interest with regard to the language activity of an individual during different life stages. Most studies have been dedicated to the early periods of the language development. The age of a speaker serves as the parameter featurein the works that focus on the analysis of the language of the youth. At the same time, there are no studies in the Ukrainian philology that deal with the speech features of the elderly people, which reduces the objectivity of the conclusions on the position of the Ukrainian language, since the fact that the objective data about its function in one of the biggest social groups have been neglected. In order to form an effective language policy, the attempt to examine the relationship of the language preferences and civilization choice of the Ukrainians is found to be promising, as well as the assesment of potential state measures in the area of language policy on the value understandings of different generation representatives.Conclusion. The study of age and generational differences in using the language based on the language identity, for example on the features of the language and speech, on the language behaviour, which is especially seen in relation to the language or in the subjective assesment of language facts. By examining the attitudes to the language/languagesof the representatives of different generations, and by finding out the patterns, which these differences have been determined by, a new perspective of predicting the direction of development the language situations has been outlined, as well as the formation of effective mechanisms of their modeling.