The publication of this Ukrainian-English Collocation Dictionary (further to be referenced as UECD) comprises a monumental event in Ukrainian lexicology. It is described as six dictionaries in one: translation, collocation, learner's, thesaurus, phraseological, and encyclopedic. It hits the mark on each of those categories with copiously detailed entries, which exhibit the compiler's in-depth knowledge of both Ukrainian and English. Yuri Shevchuk navigates back and forth seamlessly between the two languages and presents consistently suitable versions of Ukrainian words and phrases in English.
The minimalist cover design by Natasha Mikhalchuk, with an illustration by Lev Sloujitel, is inviting and appropriate for the dictionary. The letters “ґ” and “ї” on it serve orthographically to differentiate the Ukrainian from the Russian alphabet. Unfortunately, the thin cardstock cover bends and curls after even light use. I would hope that in the future the publisher offer the choice of a hard cover as well as an electronic version. The paper is high quality and the type and printing eminently readable. The dictionary includes 200,000 word combinations, 80,000 examples of word usage, 8000 synonymic groups, and 1000 antonyms. Besides succinct translations of Ukrainian words into colloquial English, the compiler provides head words and derivative phrases and expressions using those head words with accompanying translations into English. This collocational aspect of the dictionary is particularly useful to learners of Ukrainian and their language instructors.
The compiler highlights the fact that his dictionary takes into account the intense Russification of Ukrainian that occurred during Soviet times. To a great degree the dictionary decolonizes Ukrainian from coercive Soviet influences and historical suppression. It represents what the Ukrainian language was meant to be had it developed under normal circumstances without Russification. The author is to be applauded for the consistency of his approach, though actual usage and the spelling of words in Ukraine may vary in media and literary sources from what appears at times in his dictionary. Shevchuk himself calls his methodology “prescriptive lexicography” rather than “descriptive.” He largely follows the Kharkiv orthography of 1928 rather than Russified spellings of Soviet times meant to bring Ukrainian closer to Russian.
Here are a few practical examples of how Shevchuk's dictionary differs from two others of the most significant previous dictionaries, which both have been reprinted several times: the C.H. Andrusyshen and J.N. Krett Ukrainian-English Dictionary (1955; further referred to as UED); and the Ye.F. Popov and M.I. Balla Comprehensive Ukrainian-English Dictionary (2003; further referred to as CUED). The former was published in Canada and the latter in independent Ukraine.
To give a sense of the relative scope of the three dictionaries, I will compare definitions of three words in them: the verb “здавати” and the nouns “тупик” and “справа.” The Andrusyshen UED provides four single-word definitions of the verb “здавати” and six examples of usage for a total of ten lines. The Balla CUED has twenty-one lines, five different numbered definitions, and eleven examples of usage. The collocation dictionary, which uses a smaller typeface than both of the other two dictionaries, consists of over seventy lines and thirty examples of usage. Thus, the sheer volume of information provided in Shevchuk's UECD dictionary indicates its extraordinary value as a research tool. The compiler provides accents for all the words in his definitions, which makes it especially useful to learners of Ukrainian.
The noun “тупик” does not appear in the Andrusyshen UED dictionary. Balla's CUED dictionary provides just a single definition of the word: “dead end siding,” which is a term used in railroading. Shevchuk's UECD dictionary provides the literal meaning of “dead end, cul-de-sac, blind alley” as well as the figurative meaning of “impasse, dead end, deadlock.” It also provides six examples of usage as well as an indication of the plural form “тупики.”
For the word “справа,” the Andrusyshen UED provides twenty-six lines in its definitions, the Balla CUED approximately sixty, and Shevchuk's UECD over 200 lines. The sheer abundance and quality of information in Shevchuk's entries should make his dictionary a primary source that translators and learners should go to in seeking translations of Ukrainian words and expressions. Shevchuk's collocation dictionary, the first of its kind for any Slavic language, should also serve as a useful template for future compilers of similarly constructed dictionaries for the Slavic world. Shevchuk's UECD in sum is a remarkable contribution to Ukrainian lexicology that will have a meaningful impact for decades to come.
