Rzeczowniki sława i chwała oraz ich ukraińskie odpowiedniki w wypowiedziach świeckich i w życiu religijnym

Abstract

The article compares the Polish nouns sława and chwała with their Ukrainian counterparts (слава and хвала). The analysis shows that the semantic development of the examined lexical items proceeded differently in both languages. Therefore, contemporary Polish nouns are only partial synonyms of their Ukrainian counterparts. This leads to linguistic errors typical of language contact, such as substitution of the Ukrainian greeting Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraïni!) with the Polish Sława Ukrainie! (instead of Chwała Ukrainie!). The difference between Polish and Ukrainian is particularly evident in religious communication. For example, in religious texts, the Polish word chwała (‘glory’) corresponds to the Ukrainian slava (слава), and the Polish noun prawosławie (‘Orthodoxy’) preserves the root sław- in its archaic meaning (the Greek word doksa (δόξα) is translated today as ‘glory, faith’). Choosing the right equivalent in a situation of complex linguistic contact, often accompanied by the Polish‑Ukrainian‑Russian multilingualism, can be difficult for both Poles and Ukrainians. These difficulties can be overcome only through study, mutual understanding of our languages, and an awareness that similar linguistic forms do not always share the same meaning.