Paleography as a Special Historical Discipline (on the Example of the Introduction of Phonetic Spelling in Galicia at the End of the 19th Century)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the introduction of phonetic spelling in Galicia at the end of the 19th century on the basis of the works of modern researchers, journalistic investigations, and archival documents. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that this problem is studied not only in the context of the achievements of the Ukrainian national movement, but also of Ukrainian paleography as a special historical discipline.

The research methodology is based on the principles of scientificity and objectivity. Both general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization of similar factual data) and special historical (historical-comparative, historical-genetic) methods were used.

The article emphasizes that the chronological framework of paleography outlines the period from the emergence of ancient writing systems to the beginning of the 19th century. In Slavic-Cyrillic paleography, this is due to the introduction of the civil script at the beginning of the 18th century, which significantly simplified Old Slavic spelling. However, its norms were implemented rather slowly – throughout the entire 18th century. To the writing of the 19th century, according to many scientists, it is already worth applying the term «neography». However, in the territory of Galicia, the civil script, due to conservative traditions and the influence of the Russophile factor, was introduced very slowly. In the context of this region, the term «paleography» is appropriate to use until the end of the 19th century.

The author concludes that the official introduction of phonetic spelling in Galicia at the end of the 19th century became a significant event of a national-cultural character. It was the result of long-term efforts of the Ukrainian intelligentsia to create uniform and understandable rules of the Ukrainian language and its use both in scientific activity and in everyday life. We believe that the problem of the introduction and establishment of Ukrainian phonetic writing during the 18th – 19th centuries requires both further scientific research and introduction into university courses in special historical disciplines, given its importance.