Halyna V. Kocherha
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor
at the Department of Ukrainian Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Cherkasy National University,
Cherkasy, Ukraine
e-mail: kocherga_galina@ukr.net
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1000-3427
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24195/2616-5317-2026-42.12
SUMMARY
Introduction. The article examines the formation and development of the phonetic-phonological system of the Ukrainian language in a historical aspect. The main stages of the formation of the sound system of the Ukrainian language from the Proto- Slavic period to the modern Ukrainian language are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the phonetic processes that influenced the formation of the modern phonological system of the Ukrainian language, in particular, changes in vowels and consonants, the phenomena of reduction, palatalization and alternation of sounds. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the formation and development of the phonetic-phonological system of the Ukrainian language in historical discourse, as well as to determine the main phonetic processes that influenced the formation of the modern sound structure of the language. The research methodology is outlined by the comprehensive use of methods used in modern linguistics, in particular descriptive, structural, comparative-historical methods of studying the phoneticphonological system of the Ukrainian language in historical discourse. Results. The marker of the phonetic-phonological system of the Ukrainian language in the diachronic aspect and the role of the law of open syllable in this process are established. The decline of reduced vowels, palatalization processes, changes in the system of vowels and consonants, as well as various phonetic alternations of the Proto-Slavic and Old Ukrainian periods are characterized. It has been proven that all these processes contributed to the formation of the modern sound system of the Ukrainian language, which is characterized by a wealth of phonological oppositions and a clear structural organization. The research material gives grounds to assert that the phoneticphonological system of the Ukrainian language was formed on the basis of the Proto-Slavic linguistic heritage. The Proto- Slavic language was characterized by a developed system of vowel and consonant phonemes, including reduced vowels (the so-called ъ and ь), reflexes of which played an important role in the phonological structure of the Ukrainian word. It is evident that in the process of historical development, changes occurred in both the system of vowels and consonants. In particular, new phonemes were formed, the methods of their implementation changed, and the system of phonological oppositions expanded. A significant role in these processes was played by assimilation, dissimilation, simplification of consonant groups, alternation of sounds, etc.
Key words: Ukrainian language, phonetics, phonology, historical phonetics, phoneme, sound system, language evolution.
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