VARIANTS OF CASE FORMS THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS HE, SHE, THEY AND THE REFLEXIVE PRONOUN SELF IN IVAN FRANKO’S LIFETIME POETIC WORKS

Abstract

The article claims that there are many scientific achievements in Ukrainian linguistics concerning the grammatical features of the pronoun as a part of speech. These are the works of I. Vyhovanets, K. Horodenska, V. Horpynych, N. Dziuman, I. Matvias, M. Pliusch, S. Samiilenko, O. Shpyt and other linguists. In modern traditional linguistics, the following linguists do not even question the semantics of the pronoun: S. Samiylenko, I. Bilodid, B. Kulyk, M. Leonova, M. Zhovtobriukh, V. Horpynych, H. Nayenko, O. Mykytiuk and others. The article adheres to the traditional viewpoint, since in the linguistic works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a pronoun is a separate part of speech. The research indicates that the Ukrainian language of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, unlike the modern one, represents two types of pronoun declension – Eastern Ukrainian and Western Ukrainian, which led to the presence of variant forms. Such alternative pronominal forms can be traced in the work of Kameniar. The article depicts variant case forms of the personal pronouns he, she, they and the reflexive pronoun self. The source base indicated is all Kameniar’s lifetime collections: “Ballady i Kazky” (1876), “Z vershyn i Nyzyn” (1887, 1893), “Ziviale Lystia” (1896, 1911), “Mii Izmarahd” (1898), “Davnie i Nove” (1911), “Iz dniv Zhurby” (1900), “Semper tiro” (1906), “Iz lit moyiei molodosty” (1914). In the analyzed poetic works of I. Franko, there is evidence of the use of variant forms of the personal pronouns he, she in the form of the genitive (yoho/do nioho/ do yoho/yeho, yiyi/neyi), dative (yomu/yemu/mu), accusative (yoho/nioho/ v yoho/v neho/his/yeho/ho/yiyi/niu/yi/ yeyi), local (na niomu/nim) singular, nominative plural (vony/vny/ony) and the reflexive pronoun oneself (sobi/d sobѣ/k sobi; soboiu/sobov). The variant forms of the pronouns he, she in the genitive and accusative case that represent the analyzed poetic works of I. Franko, affirm the influence of the Western Ukrainian norms on his works, sometimes Eastern Ukrainian literary variant, as well as the influence of the Galician-Bukovyna group of dialects of the southwestern dialect. The use of variant forms of the pronoun he in the dative case (yomu,yemu,mu) testifies not only to the impact of the southwestern dialect, in particular the Galician-Bukovyna group of dialects, on I. Franko’s language formation, but also to the poet’s devotion to the norms that were peculiar to the Western Ukrainian variant of literary language. The similar use of variant forms of he/him reflects the peculiarities of the word change of the pronoun he in the Western and Eastern Ukrainian variants of the language and proves I. Franko’s attempt to unify the Ukrainian language according to the Eastern Ukrainian variant. As for the pronoun they, I. Franko gradually dropped the dialectal form vny, ony in favor of the normative literary vony, which were inherent in both the Western and Eastern Ukrainian variants of the language. Some variant forms are determined by rhyming (soboiu,s obov).