Академія української мови: культура і стиль життя

Фотографії Львова. Панорама Львова

Записи на тему ‘Блог’

Дата: Бер-10-2020
Категорія: Блог


During the Christmas holidays we were very happy to provide the Ukrainian Language and Culture Program in Lviv, Ukraine for the Fulbrighters. They are so cool team!
One of them Ryan Wolfe is researching in Lviv for nine months the impact of Lviv’s public memorials, museums, and statues on Ukrainian historical memory and national identity. He is writing his blog about his research and trips.

One of the most interesting stories there is about his trip to Chornobyl: “We were also very fortunate to have our tour be led by a former army engineer, who – along with thousands of others – was tasked with liquidating the area surrounding the power plant immediately after the disaster. He is a living reminder of the sacrifices made by thousands of individuals tasked with containing the fallout of the Chernobyl disaster. For our first stop of the trip, we explored an abandoned village located roughly 30 kilometers from the power plant. Due to the village’s proximity to the plant, its residents were forced to evacuate soon after the explosion, leaving behind many of their belongings in the process. As our guide pointed out, some residents in other villages refused to leave, mainly because their families had lived in these villages for generations. For them, they were giving up more than a place to live – they were giving up an integral and irreplaceable part of their identity, as well. The buildings depicted below serve as a remnant of those who did evacuate as well as a stark reminder of the long-lasting consequences of nuclear disaster. It was remarkable and saddening to me how life could stop so suddenly in these areas, never to return again.

Interestingly, however, I was able to spot some semblance of life and human connection in a monument at the entrance of the village (shown in the last two pictures). The monument is dedicated to villagers who fought and died during the Second World War as part of the Soviet Red Army. What I found fascinating is that individuals STILL lay flowers and reeves at the foot of the monument even though its village has not been occupied for over 33 years. In my opinion, these simple acts reflect the amazing lengths people will go to preserve their personal heritage. Regardless of the obstacles, individuals continue to memorialize family members, neighbors, and other village residents, and to me that is quite remarkable. After the village, we had an unexpected stop on the way to Chernobyl 2 to watch a group of wild horses. According to our guide, these horses were brought in from the Mongolian steppe to help re-establish the area’s ecosystem. We thought this was somewhat problematic since the horses were – and still are – being exposed to unnatural levels of radiation. It was still interesting to see a pack of wild horses in an area with very few animals.” The continuation is here
https://ryanpwolfe96.wixsite.com/website/post/my-trip-to-chernobyl-october-11-2019
Thank you, Ryan, for sharing your stoires with us!



Colette Hartwich about her Ukrainian heritage. A family profile: The Zakrewskis over 3 generations

Дата: Бер-22-2019
Категорія: Блог

The students of our Ukrainian Language and Culture School Learn-Ukrainian.org.ua often have rich Ukrainian heritage. Read, what a great story our student Colette Hartwich has written about her Ukrainian roots. Colette Hartwich–Soreau is a French citizen of Ukrainian origin who is currently a resident of Berlin. She has graciously agreed to give us her thoughts

Colette is a conference interpreter with 36 years of working experience


Just, as there is collective memory, modern historians show us there is a family profile. Moreover, for my Ukrainian family, the Zakrewskis from Poltavchina, this profile, largely genetic, is relatively free from influence of migration and Revolutions.
In my family’s case, there always existed the dual attraction for Ukrainian culture – as embodied in the family’s “nest” of Berezova Rudka and in the patronage of Taras Schevchenko, who visited often and whose poems to honor my great-grandmother Ganna Zakrewska are still a national passion (as evidenced in the film “My Schevchenko”, made in 2014, and in which I had a small role) – and for the European culture, as evidenced by my great-aunt Moura and her supporting role as Baroness Budberg not only in Maxim Gorki’s personal life, but also in making his written works international.

Moura’s daughter, Tania Alexander, from inside the British upper classes, left us a touching memory of the survival of a Ukrainian aristocratic family in “An Estonian Childhood: A Memoir” (First published by Jonathan Cape Ltd in 1987 under the title A Little of All These, Tania Alexander’s memoir is centered around her mother, the Baroness Moura Budberg, her life in Tsarist Society, in the Bolshevik society of Lenin and Gorky, and later in that of H.G. Wells in England).
The family, as many others present in the Zaprorogue Cossack Starchina, initially left Poland to be free. They were given land in the Eastern Ukraine and gradually moved from warrior to landed gentry status. My great-grandfather, Platon Zakrewski, was essentially and astute and tough manager, who encouraged the culture of linen and beer hops and led an active social life. Berezova Rudka was a world in itself – economically self-sufficient and highly cosmopolitan.
Thus, my great-aunt, Julia, in a time when transportation means were few and far in between, married a New Yorker and spent one third of the year in Tuscany, where she is also buried.

Estonian Childhood


The Historian, Ethnographer and Linguist, Nicolas Zakrewski, was also multi-faceted: by researching the customs and folklore of Galicia and Ukraine, he preserved those cultures. My great-grandfather, the eminent Jurist, Senator Ignace Zakrewski, contributed to legal reforms, particularly in the field of criminal law. He also cultivated European contacts – was a good friend of Emile Zola and became internationally known for his public defense of the French-Jewish captain Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was unjustly accused in a long law case that tore France in two. My great-grandfather’s eloquent and daring defense of the unjustly accused was published in the newspapers; with his clearsighted prediction of the Russian Revolution, he had the courage to publish “Welcome to Common Sense”, in Germany, in which he wrote, courageously: “Poland and Ukraine must be independent, in the common European interest”.
As a family genetic signature, my aunt, Countess Irene de Lipkowski, was one of the first women in the French Parlament and my nephew, Nick Clegg, later vindicated his ancestors’ anglophilism by becoming the Vice Prime Minister of the UK.
Both were ardently European and N. Clegg is still fighting Brexit.
All rights reserved © 2018

Colette with her classmates learning Ukrainian at Ukrainian School Learn-Ukrainian.org.ua


Dear Colette, thank you so much for your high evaluation of of our course in Lviv, it is very important for us!
“I have enormously enjoyed a crash course in Ukrainian at this conveniently located school.
As a conference interpreter with 36 years of working experience under my belt , I was impressed by Ms. Buk’s teaching method, particularly by the large emphasis on communication.
The cultural program is extremely accessible, even if you know little about the Ukrainian culture.
The teachers are extremely friendly: they guve you self confidence and adapt you to you unique background.
A good and, at the same time, enjoyable investment.”



“I came to be interested in Ukraine as one of the top nations in the field of paralympic sports” – said the Japanese student of our Ukrainian School Ikuko Nara

Дата: Лип-16-2018
Категорія: Блог

I work as a journalist. I mainly work for Japanese TV-stations, specially on sports, among all, the winter sports.
In connection with it, I came to be interested in Ukraine as one of the top nations in the field of paralympic sports, and would like to know more about Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, who support it. To see the background and the cultural aspects, on which the development of the sports are based. has always been my focus.

Interview to the Japanese trainer in women ski jump team

What I like best of visiting nordic sports competitions is to see and feel the enthusiasm of the local people

In addition, I have regular pages on a small Japanese monthly magazine, where I write about the lives of working women from different countries. I hope to make some research during my stay in Lviv.

Of course I can always ask for an interpreter to help me, but I believe some language knowledge will make things easier.

To see the exchanging ceremony of the Ukrainian army has inspired me deeply

Ukrainian classes with Ikuko Nara at Ukrainian Language and Culture School in Lviv
Copy of the pages on the magazine with the article by Ikuko Nara you can see here vol.19_narasan_0830



Lexicographer of military terminology successfully studies Ukrainian with us!

Дата: Чер-19-2018
Категорія: Блог

Dr. Walter Wintschalek war Sprachmittler für Ungarisch und Finnisch an der Landesverteidigungsakademie in Wien. Er schrieb seine Dissertation zum Thema „Areallinguistische Erscheinungen im Wolga-Kama-Gebiet der Sprachen Udmurtisch, Mordwinisch, Mari, Tatarisch, Tschuwassisch und Syrjänisch (Komi).

Gegenwärtig leitet er das Referat Grundlagen der Terminologie und Sprachmittlung am Sprachinstitut des Bundesheeres an der Landesverteidigungsakademie Wien. Hauptaufgabe des Referates ist die Entwicklung der mehrsprachigen Terminologie mit Verwendung von Computertechnologien.

Dr. Walter Wintschalek ist ein erfahrener Akteur mit einzigartigen Fähigkeiten. Er arbeitet in Kooperation mit dem Militärinstitut der Nationalen Universität Taras Schewtschenko in Kiew und vertritt seine Dienststelle beim Rat für deutschsprachige Terminologie. Dies ist eine Vereinigung von Fachleuten aus Österreich, Deutschland, der Schweiz, Luxemburg, Belgien und Italien, die sich mit der Terminologietheorie befasst.

Dr. Wintschalek ist der Autor eines terminographischen ukrainisch-deutschen Militärwörterbuches sowie eines allgemeinsprachlichen ukrainisch-deutschen, deutsch-ukrainischen Wörterbuches in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kiewer Militärinstitut und der Koautorin Nadija Grygolinska. Er hat auch ein ungarisch-deutsches Militärwörterbuch verfasst.
In Lemberg besuchte er die Ausmusterungsfeier der angehenden Offiziere an der Nationalen Akademie der Landstreitkräfte, vertiefte seine Ukrainisch Kenntnisse an unserer Schule für ukrainische Sprache und Kultur http://learn-ukrainian.org.ua, und nahm auch an interessanten kulturellen Aktivitäten teil. Besonders gefiel ihm die Sammlung österreichischer Künstler in der Lemberger Bildergalerie.

Лексикограф військової термінології з Австрії успішно вивчає українську з нами!
Доктор Вальтер Вінчалек – колишній перекладач з угорської та фінської мов Академії оборони у Відні. Він захистив дисертацію на тему «Ареальні лінгвістичні явища території річок Волги і Ками: удмуртська, мордовська, марійська, татарська, чуваська та мова комі».
Зараз він керує державним сектором термінології та основ перекладу на Лінгвістичному управлінні Збройних сил Австрії при Академії оборони у Відні. Головне завдання сектору – теоретичний розвиток багатомовної термінології із використанням комп’ютерних технологій.
Доктор Вальтер Вінчалек – досвідчений активний чоловік з унікальними здібностями. Він співпрацює з Військовим інститутом Національного університету імені Тараса Шевченка у Києві представляє свою організацію при Раді німецькомовної термінології. Це об’єднання спеціалістів з Австрії, Німеччини, Швейцарії, Люксембургу, Бельгії та Італії, що займаються розвитком цього класу слів.


Доктор Вінчалек – автор Термінографічного військового українсько-німецького словника, а також Українсько-німецького та німецько-українського загальномовного словника, які він укладав у співробітництві з Військовим інститутом та з співукладачем Надією Григолінською. Він уклав й угорсько-німецький словник військової термінології.

У Львові він відвідав церемонію випуску молодих офіцерів у Національній академії сухопутних військ, поглиблював знання української мови у нашій Школі української мови та культури http://learn-ukrainian.org.ua, а також відвідував цікаві культурні заходи за програмую Школи. Особливо йому сподобалася колекція австрійських художників у Львівській картинній галереї. 



Lviv exhibition by our student Rachel Stevens “A Key to the City: Three Ways of Visualizing Jewish Heritage in Lviv”

Дата: Тра-24-2018
Категорія: Блог

[Ukrainian below]
We are happy to share the information about the exhibition by Rachel Stevens “A Key to the City: Three Ways of Visualizing Jewish Heritage in Lviv”.
Rachel Stevens is a sculptor and Professor of Art from New Mexico State University in the United States. She is living in Ukraine as a Fulbright Scholar and learning Ukrainian with our Ukrainian Language and Culture School.
Congratulations, dear Rachel, we are so proud of you!

On May 24, at 7 pm the Center for Urban History had the opening of Rachel Stevens’ exhibition “A Key to the City: Three Ways of Visualizing Jewish Heritage in Lviv”. The exhibition contains three projects that explore different elements of Lviv’s Jewish heritage.

A Key to the City, consists of 75 glass replicas of synagogue keys resting on a black table. The use of glass evokes both the luminous quality of life and the murder of Jews at Piaski – “The Sands” – at the Janowska Camp. The artwork reminds us that Janowska was liquidated 75 years ago.

Underworld: Holocaust Survival in the Sewers of Lviv, is storytelling that reveals how the Chiger family and other Jews survived by hiding in Lviv’s sewers for over a year.

100 Jewish Sites in Lviv, is an interactive map that reveals a landscape that was mostly lost by Jewish citizens. A Lvivian named Borys Orach compiled this geographic treasure and this digital map project celebrates his life and love of buildings that embody Jewish history.


Rachel Stevens is a sculptor and Professor of Art from New Mexico State University in the United States. She is living in Ukraine as a Fulbright Scholar.

This exhibition takes place as part of the program “Lwów, לעמבערג‎, Львів, Lemberg, Lviv’43: The City that did (not) Survive”. It is a series of memorial activities to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liquidation of the ghetto and Janowska concentration camp in Lviv.

This exhibition was made possible by Fulbright Ukraine, The Council for International Exchange of Scholars and The Center for Urban History of East Central Europe.

More at http://www.lvivcenter.org/en/exhibitions/historical/180-2018-05-24-key-to-the-city/
_____

Ми раді поширити інформацію, про виставку студентки нашої Школи української мови для іноземців Рейчел Стівенс “Ключ до міста: три шляхи візуалізації єврейської спадщини у Львові”.

Рейчел – скульптор і професор мистецтв університету Нью Мексико, США. Вона живе і працює в Україні за програмою фулбрайта, а також вивчає тут українську мову у нашій Школі української мови для іноземцівUkrainian Language and Culture School.
Сердечно вітаємо, дорога Рейчел, ми Вами пишаємося!

24 травня о 19.00 відбулося відкриття виставки. Вона об’єднує три проекти, які досліджують різні аспекти єврейської спадщини Львова.

Інсталяція “Ключ до міста” складається з 75-ти прозорих скляних копій ключів від синагог, які лежать на столі. Скло асоціюється і з яскравим життям, і з убивством євреїв у “Пісках” біля концтабір “Яновська” (більше відомий в українській літературі як Янівський табір). Ця мистецька композиція нагадує про те, що табір “Яновська” був ліквідований 75 років тому.

Оповідь “Підземний світ: ті, хто вижив у львівській каналізації під час Голокосту” стосується сім’ї Хіґерів та інших євреїв, які пережили Голокост і понад рік переховувались у львівській каналізації.

“100 єврейських місць Львова” – інтерактивна карта, що показує ландшафт, який здебільшого для львівських євреїв вже втрачений. Цей географічний скарб зібрав львів’янин Борис Орач. Ця цифрова карта стане виявом шани його життю та любові до будівель, які є втіленням єврейської історії.

Рейчел Стівенc – скульпторка і професорка мистецтв з Уніеврситету штату Нью-Мексико (США). Вона перебуває в Україні на дослідницькій стипендії ім. Фулбрайта. До створення виставки долучилося чимало чудових талановитих людей.

Виставка відбуватиметься у межах програми “Lwów, לעמבערג‎, Львів, Lemberg’43: Місто, яке (не)пережило”. Це серія меморіальних заходів до 75-ої річниці ліквідації гетто та Янівського концтабору у Львові.

Ця виставка створена за підтримки “Фулбрайт-Україна”, Ради міжнародних обмінів вчених та Центру міської історії.

Інформація про виставку на сайті Центру: http://www.lvivcenter.org/uk/exhibitions/historical/180-2018-05-24-key-to-the-city/



Best 10 things to do in Lviv

Дата: Бер-15-2018
Категорія: Блог

If you are a fan of Vienna, Krakow, or other similar cities in Europe, Lviv (also pronounced as Lvov, Lwow and Lemberg) should definitely jump up to the top of your travel list. Relatively unknown, it has the grandeur, coziness and charm, but unlike its Central Europe counterparts, does not have the glossy touristy appeal. Besides, Lviv is also no doubt a heart of Ukrainian culture. Are you planning a budget Lviv trip? Well, Lviv is a great steal for backpackers: lots of good quality hostels, cheap local food, and plenty of activities to do for not big budget.

1. Learn to paint traditional Easter Eggs

If you’ve ever wondered how the heck they paint these beautiful eggs, or wanted to try yourself at a pottery wheel, or simply would like to learn more about Ukrainian traditional crafts, take up a master class with a local artisan. Not widely promoted, they are a great opportunity to get to know the local culture. Join our Off the beaten Track Lviv City Tour for an artsy evening, or check an exciting egg-painting story from Katie Going Global, who participated in one of our master classes!

2. Learn Ukrainian language and culture

… with the best Ukrainian School for foreigners in Lviv learn-ukrainian.org.ua!
It is challenging to travel in the country with no knowledge of it language, without the possibility to read the signs, shop advertise and so on. This School will help you. Every month you are welcome to 2 week Ukrainian intensive course where you can learn Ukrainian in 10 days. Their courses are is created due to ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe) requirements and has the communicative orientation. It mixes the language learning with unique and very interesting Ukrainian traditions: Pysanka workshop, hayivkas and Easter games etc. You will have the time to visit most interesting places in Lviv (National Art Gallery, Opera Theatre, ancient mountain High Castle, Open Air Museum …). During the courses you will have the possibility to cook and taste Ukrainian dishes, visit the most interesting places of Ukraine, sing Ukrainian traditional and pop songs and a lot more.
The lecturers have great teaching experience for foreigners and native speakers in the best international universities. Enroll now learn-ukrainian.org.ua

3. Have a picnic in Shevchenko Park

Also called, Museum of National Folk and and Rural Life, Shevchenko Park offers you a great combination of learning and fun. An open-air museum hosts more than 124 architectural monuments (mostly village houses and churches grouped into 54 farmsteads) situated in picturesque ethnographic areas. After visiting Park’s exhibits, take a stroll along its valleys, and sit for a picnic in its shaded views. Admission fee: 1 euro (10 UAH) Getting there: take tram #2 from the stop right opposite to Town Hall, and get off after 4 stops. For further directions, see the map.

4. Visit Lviv’s art galleries

Venture away from Rynok Square and enjoy traditional and modern art in dozens of Lviv art galleries. Dzyga is amongst the most famous ones, and is also popular with the locals as a café. It has a new exhibition every two weeks, and calls itself the Art-Terra for Lviv artists. Few others, worth mentioning, are Zelena Kanapa, and Museum of Ideas.

5. Enjoy performances on Lviv city square

Every summer Lviv municipality hosts a Summer Festival in the heart of the city, Rynok Square. Local pop/rock bands, traditional performances and all of that for free to enjoy! Lviv is also brimming with street musicians and you can always join the crowd listening or dancing. In addition, dozens of festivals are held in Lviv every year. From Chocolate to Coffee, from traditional art to jazz music, anyone can find something to their taste.

6. Attend a concert in Lviv Opera House

Yes, it is indeed possible! World class performances, the stunning architectural of beauty of Lviv Opera Theater (among the best in Europe), and all of that comes at a fraction of price. You can enjoy a night of music and culture for as little as 7 euros! Even if you aren’t too much into music, simply visiting Opera Theater halls and their grand beauty will be an experience in itself.

7. Wander around the tombs of Lychakiv Cemetery

‘Immense and moving’, as described by Lonely Planet, Lychakiv Cemetery is among the must-see sights in Lviv. It is a beautiful enchanted park, only 10 min away from the bustling city center, and is home to dramatic tombstones of Ukrainian, Polish, German, and Russian famous people. Admission fee: less than 1 euro (3 UAH). Getting there: You can take tram #2 at the tram stop right opposite Town Hall, and get off three stops later (‘Medical Institute’ stop).

8. Go cycling in the greenery of Lviv Parks

If you want to test the adventurous side of you, rent a bike and go for a ride in one of Lviv Parks. Stryisky Park is among the oldest and most beautiful in the city. Cycle along its pond with swans, explore artificial castle ruins and visit a glassed greenhouse with tropical plants. Where to rent a bike: check out Gorgany shop (right off the Opera House, Gorodotska st, 5), or SportTovary shop (Svobody ave., 1/3). Cost: around 10 euros per day. For more information on parking for bikes, and rental shops, check out the map of Lviv Cycling Association. In Ukrainian only, it can still give you some useful information.

9. Visit city museums

Image courtesy of iloveukraine portal For extension of your cultural and opera experience, visit Museum of Solomiya Krushelnytska, Ukraine’ most renowned opera singer. For historical and cultural introductions, explore the displays at Lviv History Museum and Museum of Etnography and Arts . Military fans will definitely enjoy the exhibits of cold arms and firearms at Lviv Arsenal, the only museum of its kind in Ukraine.

10. Explore Lviv cafés

Lviv is well-known in Ukraine for its quirky cafés, delicious coffee, and reasonable price of eating out. For a wide selection of top-notch coffee, visit Svit Kavy (World of Coffee), strategically located beside Dominical Cathedral. For a more local, funky experience, try your luck getting into Kryivka (‘Underground Bunker’), a café that is devoted to the history of Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the World War II. For more ideas on what to do in Lviv, or short getaways outside of the city, email us and we’ll be glad to give you our most interesting suggestions!



Наш студент з Тайваню Чак Чуан вивчає українську мову півтора року і вже став знаменитим!

Дата: Лют-27-2018
Категорія: Блог

«Радіо Свобода» (англ. «Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty» опублікувало інтерв’ю з нашим чудовим студентом з Тайваню!

Taiwanese Chuck Chuan is learning Ukrainian with learn-ukrainian.org.ua

Тайванець Чак Чуан вивчає українську мову вже півтора року. Зізнається: спочатку було важко, але постійна і наполеглива практика у вигляді перегляду фільмів в українській озвучці, слухання української музики, читання української літератури та просто спілкування українською у побуті дозволила йому значно підвищити рівень своїх знань. А ще Чак любить українські краєвиди та вважає, що у багатьох українців «буддистське серце»​. Про усе це він розповів у інтерв’ю Радіо Свобода.

Я нічого не знав про Україну, але поезія звабила мене
– Коли я був студентом в університеті на Тайвані, я читав українську поезію в англійському перекладі. У 2014 році до Тайбею завітала українська поетеса Оксана Луцишина, щоб зачитати свої вірші. Насправді я нічого не знав про Україну, але поезія Оксани звабила мене.

Чак Чуан з українськими поетами

На Тайвані дуже мало знають про вашу країну
Моя професор порадила мені написати дослідницький проект про Україну та українську літературу, тому що на Тайвані дуже мало знають про вашу країну (лише про українських дівчат).

Я був дуже шокований, бо в бібліотеках не було ніякої інформації про Україну
Тож влітку 2015 року я розпочав роботу над ним. Я був дуже шокований, бо в бібліотеках не було ніякої інформації про Україну! З українськими поетами я намагався зв’язатися через електронну пошту або Facebook. Це була дуже цікава пригода.

Врешті-решт я вирішив що, після університету поїду до України, щоб вивчати українську мову.

– Із чого ти почав її вивчення? У який спосіб взагалі вчив: сам, з викладачем, через курси?

– Під час першого року я навчався на підготовчому факультеті в Київському університеті імені Тараса Шевченка.

Минулого року я жив у Львові, і мій друг порадив мені, крім лекцій і пар в університеті, відвідувати курси української мови learn-ukrainian.org.ua. Наші уроки були в кафе-коворкінгу в центрі Львова. Ми займалися щодня по 3 години. Це було цікаво та корисно, бо ми вивчали не тільки граматику, а також читали статті, слухали музику та дивилися відео. У групі нас було тільки двоє. Це був інтенсив, щоб ми могли практикувати розмовні навички.

Taiwanese Chuck Chuan is learning Ukrainian with learn-ukrainian.org.ua

​У листопаді моїм одногрупником був чоловік зі США. Його історія цікава. Його батько – поляк, а мати – українка. Йому вже 50 років, але це був його перший візит до України.

У грудні моїм одногрупником був студент з Британії. Йому тільки 19 років і зараз він навчається в Кембриджському університеті. У нього є українські лекції в університеті. Йому подобаються вірші Тараса Шевченка. Ввечері ми з ним ходили на музичні концерти у Львові.

– Що для тебе було найважчим у вивченні української мови, а що найцікавішим?

У перший місяць навчання в Україні я був у російській групі, тому що не було української групи для мене
– Це було важко! Я ніколи не вивчав ні російську, ні українську мови.

У перший місяць я був у російській групі, тому що не було української групи для мене. У російській групі студентів було багато. Деякі з них вже вивчали російську мову, а інші ні. Одного разу вони розмовляли з викладачем і розсміялися, а решта не могла зрозуміти, чому саме їм смішно. Це було дивно.

Я швидко і щасливо перейшов до української групи.
Був випадок, коли викладач дала нам зошит з російською граматикою і почала швидко говорити. Моя щелепа відвисла. Потім вона запитала нас, хто не зрозумів? Я підняв руку. Вона запитала: «Хорошо, что ты не понимаешь?» А я навіть не міг сказати їй, що я не міг зрозуміти.

Згодом я швидко і щасливо перейшов до української групи.

Чак у Львові з одногрупнками зі Школи української мови та культури для іноземців learn-ukrainian.org.ua


– Скільки часу минуло від моменту початку вивчення тобою української мови і до моменту, коли ти зміг говорити вільно нею та писати?

Я намагався багато практикувати свої навички. Наприклад, замовляв таксі
Я дивився багато фільмів українською мовою.
– Із жовтня 2016 року до сьогодні, тобто 15-16 місяців. Я намагався багато практикувати свої навички. Наприклад, замовляв таксі, тому що, на мою думку, це хороший спосіб для цього. Я не використовував Uber, просто набирав номер служби і говорив дівчині, куди я хотів їхати. Потім телефонував водій, щоб підтвердити виклик. Частіше за все, під час поїздок я розмовляв з водіями про музику чи подорожі. Окрім цього, я дивився багато фільмів українською мовою.

​– Чим українська мова відрізняється від твоєї рідної? Можливо, є щось схоже між ними?

– На Тайвані ми розмовляємо китайською, вона дуже відрізняється від української. Мені складно знайти схожі між ними слова. Щодо різниці, то, наприклад, ми не кажемо «Будь здоровим!», коли наш друг чхає, чи «Смачного!» перед прийомом їжі.

Taiwanese Chuck Chuan is learning Ukrainian with learn-ukrainian.org.ua

​– Яке слово української мови для тебе найкрасивіше, а яке найкумедніше?

– Є багато смішних для мене слів. Одного разу я запитав свого друга, як українською мовою буде вислів «holy sh*t», він неправильно зрозумів і відповів: «Свята сокира». Ми подумали, що вислів, який ми випадково утворили, є доволі смішним і почали його використовувати.

– Де ти вже був в Україні? Що вразило тебе тут найбільше, а що не сподобалося?

– Взагалі я вже відвідав багато міст. Подорожував разом із другом. Маріуполь, Бердянськ, Запоріжжя, Дніпро, Черкаси, Умань, Білгород-Дністровський, Одеса, Хотин, наприклад…

В Україні мені дуже сподобались краєвиди соняшників. Я бачив їх, коли подорожував на автобусі і на поїзді. Тайвань – це острів. Ми бачимо море, але у нас немає красивого великого поля.

– Які враження у тебе від українців? Чим вони відрізняються від твоїх земляків, а чим схожі з ними?

– Я щасливий, тому що познайомився в Україні з багатьма друзями. На Тайвані, ми кажемо, що в когось «буддистське серце», що означає, що хтось настільки добрий і благостивий, що є реінкарнацією Будди або ж Будда є в його серці. Ви також можете сказати, що Ісус є в чиємусь серці.

Наприклад, коли я був у Харкові, трапилась ситуація, коли у мене не вистачало грошей, щоб купити квиток у метро. Я просив про допомогу хлопців і дівчат, але мені відмовляли. І раптом один чоловік запитав, чи не потрібна мені допомога, і допоміг мені ввійти в метро за своєю карткою, навіть не попросив 4 гривні. Потім я запитав у нього, як можу пересісти у напрямку до вокзалу. Він все пояснив. Хоча я нічого не зрозумів, але я дуже дякував. У нього «буддистське серце».

З іншого боку, в мене є хороший друг Сергій, який працює в університеті Києва. Він допомагав мені писати домашні завдання щодня. Навіть він не просив у мене за це гроші чи подарунки. У нього теж «буддистське серце».

​– Чи читаєш ти українські книги? Хто з українських авторів тобі подобається?

Особливо мені подобається читати поезію Сергія Жадана

Чак Чуан ділиться враженнями про зустріч з Сергієм Жаданом


– Крім новин і статей українською мовою, я інколи читаю українські книги. Люблю читати вголос поезію, коли подорожую в метро чи літаком. особливо мені подобається читати поезію Сергія Жадана, мені дуже подобається його віршована рима і темп. Я ходив на його концерти. Це було чудово!

Мені подобаються вірші Ліни Костенко. «Крила», наприклад.

Окрім літератури, мені подобається українська група «Океан Ельзи». На жаль, я ніколи не був на їхньому концерті.

З іншого боку, на Тайвані я прочитав книгу «Коротка історія тракторів по-українськи» Марини Левицької. Зокрема, в ній розповідається про болісну історію голоду в Україні і сталінські репресії. Книга мене дуже вразила.



Ukrainian Old New Year & Malanka celebration: traditions, rituals and rites

Дата: Січ-13-2018
Категорія: Блог

January 13-14 is the Old New Year in Ukraine. January 14 is popular in Ukrainian culture for meeting and greeting relatives and friends, and visiting the graves of dead members of the family and, of course, visiting churches. The tradition to celebrate Old New Year is associated with the divergence of two calendars: the Julian calendar “old style” and Gregorian – calendar “new style.” This difference in the XX-XXI centuries is 13 days since the New Year, Old Style, is celebrated on the night of January 13 to 14. The beauty of traditions and rituals is still alive in villages, and the Western Ukraine takes the lead in celebrating this day with rites.

This old holiday also coincides in Ukraine with Malanka, a traditional carnival-like holiday from pre-Christian times.


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January 14 (January 1, Old Style) Christian Church commemorates St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea Kappodakiyskoyi. In ancient times, this day was called Vasyliva day and was crucial for the whole year. The eve (now January 13) is called Vasylivym evening.
Basil evening is popular for eating the best and most delicious food that is prepared at home: pies, sausage, meat, pancakes, and drinking beer, wine, and vodka. Mandatory for the New Year’s table are Kutia, pig, or any dish with pork, because St. Basil is considered the patron saint of pigs. There is a belief that if the night before Basil’s day desk is filled with a lot of pork, these animals will multiply in abundance and offer their owners a good profit.

The Old New Year table is served with dishes made with rabbit and rooster to be nimble as a rabbit and rooster – to be light as a bird. Another obligatory festive meal on Vasily day is porridge. Cooking is accompanied by special rituals.

On New Year’s Eve, the oldest of the women brings pantry cereal (usually buckwheat), and the oldest man brings water from a well or river.


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Then they all sit at the table, and the oldest of the women begins to stir the porridge in the pot, saying some ritual words. Then they all get up from the table, and the porridge is put into the oven with a bow. Cooked porridge fetches from the oven and is carefully considered. If the pot is full of nourishing porridge and crumbly, then you can expect a happy year and a rich harvest, and the next morning the porridge is eaten. If you get a cracked pot, it does not promise anything good to the household, and this mess should not be eaten, but instead thrown into the hole for a chance to change destiny.

The rites of the first day of the New Year is aimed at the welfare both in specific areas of peasant activity and throughout the economy as a whole. Rite posivannya, which is held on the morning of Vasily day is done to get a good harvest in the coming year. This ancient ritual is also known by other names: Avsenev, ovsen, Useni. The essence of it is that that the children gather together before dinner, are walked through the huts with a sleeve or bag of grain oats, buckwheat, rye, and other breads while singing a zasivalnu song.


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Children go from door to door and sing Christmas carols in exchange for candies and chocolates. This is very similar to the American Halloween trick-or-treat tradition, though the Ukrainian children do not dress in costumes for Old New Year’s.

On the morning of Old New Year’s Day, January 14, men and boys go around knocking on everyone’s doors. According to tradition, it is lucky for the first person to enter each room in a house to be a man or a boy. Once the man or boy has entered the room, he throws buckwheat or grain onto the floor and recites a rhyme wishing good luck and happiness for the upcoming year. Then as thanks, the men or boys are presented with small gifts such as candies or $1 UAH bills. The last part of this tradition is that you may not clean up the buckwheat grains until the next day, or else you will sweep away your good luck!

Ritual and characters of Malanka

The Malanka feast name comes from St. Melania Day, celebrated on Dec. 31, which by the old Julian calendar falls on Jan. 13.

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The Malanka celebrations mark the arrival of the New Year and begin after sunset on the evening of St. Melania day on Jan. 13, which is also called the Generous Evening (Shchedryi Vechir) in Ukraine. The celebration’s participants dress as the characters involved in the ritual – Malanka, Vasyl, the She-Goat, the Old Man, the Gypsy, the Doctor, the Cat, and others – and hit the streets of Ukrainians villages and towns.

Malanka is usually portrayed by a young man dressed in a woman’s clothes. His makeup is bizarre – the face is whitened with chalk, the eyebrows are darkened with soot, and the cheeks are painted red with beet juice. Malanka is portrayed as a clumsy housewife whose housekeeping efforts make everybody laugh.

“It was a hint to young men that they should choose a good wife, since the New Year and Christmas celebrations were followed by the marriage season,” Kuklina says.

The She-Goat

While the Malanka character is prominent in the masquerade, the She-Goat character also stands out: the goat is a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

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The performers lead the She-Goat on a leash (in Ukrainian the ritual is called “vodyty kozu” – “walking the goat”). The Goat is played by a young man in a mask and a sheepskin coat worn inside out. A skit is acted out in which the Goat starts to hit everybody in the house with its horns. At the end of the skit, the goat is shot and dies. Its death symbolizes the winter period and the death of all the plants, according to Kuklina.

But the climax of the ritual is the Goat’s resurrection. The Doctor and all the people present during the ritual try to bring the animal back to life. The doctor’s unsuccessful methods make everybody laugh – he peeks into goat’s ears, and counts its teeth to determine whether the goat is young or old.

When nothing helps, people even try to milk the Goat. Since it is played by a man, this trick usually “reanimates” the Goat quickly.

“The Goat’s dying and revival is the ritual’s central point, connected to agrarian cults symbolizing nature’s death and resurrection,” Kuklina says.

The Malanka ritual is also connected with the cult of the dead.


“Our predecessors believed that the beginning of a new life is not possible without the consent of the dead relatives,” the ethnologist said.

Tradition’s revival

The pre-Christian Malanka New Year celebrations faded away during the Soviet times as the atheist communist regime suppressed religious and national traditions. But after Ukraine gained independence in 1991, the Malanka celebrations started to revive, especially in Western Ukraine.

Chernivtsi and Vashkivtsi in Chernivtsi Oblast are known as the some of the best places to go to see traditional Malanka celebrations.

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But the citizens of Horoshova, a town of 2,000 people in Ternopil Oblast some 480 kilometers west of Kyiv, claim their Malanka is the biggest in Ukraine. Every year on Jan. 13, the town’s residents prepare a new program of Old New Year celebrations, which thousands of people from the area come to see.
“All residents of Horoshova aged between 3 and 50 years take part in the Malanka celebrations,” says 15-year-old Horoshova resident Viktoria Kozak. “People from the whole district come to see the Malanka Eve events. All our guests like our performances very much.”

Happy Old New Year from Ukraine! 😉

Sources: https://www.eturbonews.com/81866/ukrainians-celebrated-old-new-year-traditions-rituals-and-rites; https://www.kyivpost.com/lifestyle/malanka-one-ukraines-interesting-holidays.html



How to protect Ukrainian history against the political manipulation?

Дата: Січ-11-2018
Категорія: Блог

Center for Urban History of East Central Europe in Lviv is an important advanced institution for protecting history against the political manipulation.
Being founded in founded in 2004 as a private non-profit organisation it is committed to non-material aims.

During our intensive course of Ukrainian language and culture our we organize the visits for our students to the most important and the most interesting institutions of Lviv. This time we visited Center for Urban History of East Central Europe. Dr. Iryna Matsevko, Deputy Directorand Academic Coordinator of this Center gave us a deep overview of their projects and activities.

In all its activities, be they academic or cultural, the Center strives to adhere to principles of openness (toward what is new), tolerance (with regard to difference and diversity) and responsibility (for the future).

Our students in the library of the Center listening to the lecture


As an institute of historical scholarship, it seeks to offer fresh intellectual impulses and help abandon dated questions and preconceived answers. By information and open discussion, they try to help prevent history from being abused for political ends. Through conferences, seminars and exhibitions they hope to promote scholarly and cultural exchange.

They offer young researchers additional opportunities to do advanced, internationally recognized work in their own country, seeking to reduce the “brain drain” emigration of qualified scholars.

Center strives to be a part of contemporary Lviv’s urban society and public, open to diverse communities and in productive cooperation with public and cultural institutions.

As an institute that not only researches the city of the past, but also lives and works in the city of the present, they want to go beyond academic activity and support cultural and other public initiatives, which they see as both valuable and seminal.

Center wants to contribute to Lviv becoming a central site for intellectual, academic and cultural life not only in Ukraine but in Europe.

The Center is located in a historical building of 1905

The specific goals of the Center are also listed in its Foundation Charter of 9 November 2005:

To encourage research into the Urban History of East Central Europe through the founding of an academic research institute
To anchor Urban Studies as a field of interdisciplinary research in Lviv and East Central Europe through international cooperation with other scholarly institutions
To encourage research into the history of Lviv as an urban center of a multi-cultural past and heritage in cooperation with the city’s existing academic institutions
To enrich Lviv’s current cultural life by organizing and supporting public events
To support an awareness of Ukraine’s European belonging – inside as well as outside Ukraine – through academic research and international cultural exchange, to support Ukraine’s perspective toward membership in the European Union
To promote public awareness of the importance of the historic cityscape of Lviv through the gathering and cataloguing of information and documentation, helping to protect and preserve part of Europe’s cultural treasures

The students of our intensive Ukrainian courses learn-ukrainian.org.ua visiting the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe in Lviv

The Video Archive of the Center’s for Urban History events provides access to a collection of audiovisual materials, including videos of public lectures, discussions, roundtables, and meetings with historians and remarkable personalities, that have been held at the Center. These materials have been posted online with consent of the participants, and can be used for professional, as well as educational purposes.

“Urban Media Archive” consists of digitized or created in digital formats of visual and audiovisual resources that depict the city and city life of Central and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Harald Binder, Founder and President of the Foundation Board

In order to have a critical understanding of the past and to create an open and participatory historical culture in society, the Center initiates and implements projects in the field of public history. Using the different formats for dialogue about the past, among contemporaries, they strive to overcome prejudices and stereotypes, to include in the conversation, as well as in history, new participants, actors and themes. As the academic sphere works with various public environments they pay special attention to issues of heritage and museum practices, digital history and creating new archives, and to the connections between art and complex issues of the past and finally, about the potential of the city and its public spaces.

The Center is located in a historical building of 1905 designed by the noted Lviv secessionist architect Ivan (Jan) Levyns’kyi.

Address: Vul. Akad. Bohomoltsia 6, Lviv 79005, Ukraine
Opening hours: Monday-Friday 10 am – 6 pm
Library hours: Monday-Friday10 am – 5 pm
Exhibition room: Wednesday-Friday 1 pm – 8 pm; Saturday, Sunday 11 am – 5 pm
www.lvivcenter.org/en



For the Ukrainians Christmas is the most important family holiday of the whole year

Дата: Січ-5-2018
Категорія: Блог

For the Ukrainians Christmas is the most important family holiday of the whole year.
How do the Ukrainians celebrate it?


It is celebrated solemnly, as well as merrily, according to ancient customs that have come down through the ages and are still observed today. Ukrainian Christmas customs are based not only on Christian traditions, but, to a great degree, on those of the pre-Christian, pagan culture and religion. The Ukrainian society was basically agrarian at that time and had developed an appropriate pagan culture, elements of which have survived to this day.

Christmas Day is celebrated either on December 25 in accordance with the Roman Catholic tradition (Gregorian Calendar), or on January 7 which is traditionally the Orthodox or Eastern Rite (Julian Calendar) church holy day.
The Christmas Eve Supper or Sviata Vecheria (Holy Supper) brings the family together to partake in special foods and begin the holiday with many customs and traditions, which reach back to antiquity. The rituals of the Christmas Eve are dedicated to God, to the welfare of the family, and to the remembrance of the ancestors.

Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians in Ukraine traditionally have 2 Christmas dinners. The first one is a Lent Dinner, it is held on the January 6 and should consist of meatless dishes. Traditionally people fast (don’t eat anything) all day but you might start the day drinking some holy water that has been blessed at church. You can’t start eating the meal until the first star is seen in the sky. The second one is a Christmas Festive dinner held on January 7, when the meat dishes and alcohol are already allowed on the table.

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The dinner normally has 12 dishes which represent Jesus’s 12 disciples. However, even for Christmas, Ukrainians manage to bring in so many ancient rituals, that at times the line between the religious and the pagan becomes quite blurry. Both Christmas dinners traditionally include a number of authentic Ukrainian dishes, which have over thousand year history and date back to pagan times.

Christmas dinner

Kutya, being single most important Christmas dish in Ukraine, was known as a popular ritualistic food even before the arrival of Christianity. This is a cooked wheat porridge, mixed with poppy seeds, honey, and raisins. It symbolizes wealth and appreciates for successful harvest season.
Then comes borshch (beet soup) with vushka (boiled dumplings filled with chopped mushrooms and onions). This is followed by a variety of fish – baked, broiled, fried, cold in aspic, fish balls, marinated herring and so on. Then come varenyky (boiled dumplings filled with cabbage, potatoes, buckwheat grains, or prunes. There are also holubtsi (stuffed cabbage), and the supper ends with uzvar.
Meatless soups like dried mushroom or sauerkraut (kapusniak) are popular as is beet borshch on the Ukrainian Holy Supper table. Often, the soup is served with mushroom-filled vushka dumplings, which means “little ears”.

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Pickled whitefish or herring, their silver color and scales all portending good luck and coins, are a must for Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner. But other pickled items like pickled mushrooms and other vegetables and salads appear in great variety.
Freshwater fish, usually whitefish, carp, lake perch, trout or pike, is always part of the dinner. It is served whole or filleted, breaded and fried, poached, baked, stewed or glazed with aspic, depending on family preferences, and often several varieties appear on the table — one fried and one prepared another way.
Beans / Legumes / Vegetables. Split Peas and Cabbage Split Peas and Cabbage. Cooked beans or cabbage with dried peas are popular. This latter dish is also popular at Polish Christmas Eve suppers and is known as Kapusta z Grochem. Beans, legumes, and cabbage or sauerkraut all figure prominently because they signify wealth and prosperity in the coming year.
Cereals / Grains / Dumplings. Cereals and grains show up as the filling for holubtsi or cabbage rolls. Another interesting vegetarian spin on this dish is bread-stuffed beet leaf rolls. Meatless varenyky, pyrohy and other dumplings abound. And a special treat is savory pampushky, which can be made savory or in a sweet variety with yeast dough (see Desserts, below).

Another pre-Christian detail of traditional Ukrainian Christmas dinner is Didukh. The room where Christmas dinner is eaten normally has a Didukh decoration placed in it. The Didukh is made from a sheaf of wheat and it symbolizes the large wheat field in Ukraine. It literally means ‘grandfather spirit’ and can represent people’s ancestors being with them in their memories. These days modern Ukrainian families just put some heads of wheat in a vase rather than a whole sheaf of wheat.

After Christmas Dinner many children as well as grown-ups go visit their neighbors and family members and friends who live nearby to wish them Merry Christmas and sing some Christmas carols. While many of the Ukrainian Christmas Eve customs are of a solemn nature, the custom of caroling is joyful and merry. Ukrainian Christmas songs or carols have their origins in antiquity, as do many other traditions practiced at Christmas time. One more fun Christmas tradition in Ukraine is Vertep. Vertep, the Ukrainian Christmas puppet theater, is a group of people going from house to house with short Biblical themed scenes and carol singing. After seeing the performance, the host traditionally gives money or food to Vertep.

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After all the preparations have been completed, the father offers each member of the family a piece of bread dipped in honey, which had been previously blessed in church. He then leads the family in prayer. After the prayer the father extends his best wishes to everyone with the greeting Khrystos Razhdaietsia (Christ is born), and the family sits down to a twelve-course meatless Christmas Eve Supper.

Both koliadky and shchedrivky have pagan elements in them, but many have been Christianized. For example, one pagan carol tells of a landowner who is awakened by a swallow and told to make preparations, because three guests are coming to his house: the sun, the moon and the rain. In the Christianized version the three guests become Jesus Christ, St. Nicholas and St. George. The very popular Ukrainian carol in the United states, “Carol of the Bells”, in its originality is a shchedrivka and tells of a swallow (herald of Spring) that has come to a landowner’s house and asks him to come out and see how rich he is, how many calves he has, and so on.

The themes of Ukrainian Christmas songs vary. Many, of course, deal with the birth of Christ and that occasion’s joyful celebrations, and many of them have apocryphal elements. Another group of carols contain purely pagan mythological elements. Still another group deals with Ukrainian history of the 9-12 centuries, mostly with the heroic episodes in the lives of some of the princes that were favorite among the people. One of the largest groups of carols are glorification songs – glorifying the landowner, the farmer, his wife, his sons, his daughters, every member of the family. These songs glorify their work as well as their personal traits.

Caroling required extensive preparation. Each group had a leader. One member dressed as a goat. Another as a bag carrier, the collector of all the gifts people would give them. Yet another carried a six-pointed star attached to a long stick with a light in its center, which symbolized the Star of Bethlehem. In some places the people even had musical instruments, such as the violin, tsymbaly (dulcimer), or the trembita (a wooden pipe about 8-10 feet long, used in the Carpathian mountains by the Hutsuls).

Caroling was not a simple singing of Christmas songs; it was more of a folk opera. The carolers first had to ask for permission to sing. If the answer was yes, they entered the house and sang carols for each member of the family, even for the smallest child. Sometimes they even performed slow ritualistic dances. They also had to present a short humorous skit involving the goat. The custom of the goat accompanying the carolers has its origin in the pagan times when the goat represented the god of fertility. The skit showed the goat dying and then being brought back to life. This also symbolized the death of Winter and the birth of Spring. The caroling always ended with short well-wishing poems, appropriately selected for each home.

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Koliadky and shchedrivky are the oldest groups of Ukrainian folk songs. They are sung by Ukrainians at Christmas time throughout the world.
Happy Holidays – Veselykh sviat!
Ukrainian Christmas – Traditions, Folk customs, and Recipes