Church Slavonicism

A Church Slavonicism is a word, form or word-formative element inherited by the Ukrainian language from the Old Church Slavonic linguistic tradition and marked by a shade of bookishness, solemnity and elevation: hlava ('head'), drevo ('tree'), vrata ('gates'), blahodat ('grace'), predtecha ('forerunner'). Church Slavonicisms are recognised by characteristic phonetic and morphological features. In literature they create a high stylistic register, lend speech a solemn, sacred or pathetic resonance, stylise the text as the ancient bookish tradition, and sometimes, used in an everyday context, create an ironic effect. Church Slavonicisms play a special role in spiritual and civic poetry. Their study belongs to historical lexicology and stylistics and reveals the deep links of the Ukrainian language with ancient bookish culture.