Doukhobor Russian
Encyclopedia
The Doukhobor
s are a Christian sect who in 1899 established a number of commune
-style settlements in Western Canada
. They have brought with them a Southern Russian dialect
of their communities of origin, which over the following decades underwent some changes under the influence of the Canadian English environment and the speech of the Ukrainian settlers in Saskatchewan
.
Over several generations, this dialect has been mostly lost, as the modern descendants of the original Doukhobor migrants to Canada are typically native English speakers, and when they do speak Russian, it is typically a fairly standard variety of it.
near Ukraine
's Sea of Azov
coast. Over the next 10–20 years, the Doukhobor, Molokan
, and other settlers, speaking a variety of mostly Southern Russian dialects
arrived to the Molochna from several provinces located, primarily, in what is today eastern Ukraine and south-central Russia. In the settlers' villages an opportunity thus arose for the formation of a certain dialect koiné
, based on Southern Russian and Eastern Ukrainian dialects.
Starting in 1841, the Doukhobors (as well as Molokans and certain other dissenters) were resettled from southern Ukraine to Transcaucasia, where they founded a number of villages surrounded by mostly non-Russian speaking neighbors (primarily Azerbaijanis in Elisabethpol Governorate
, Armenians
in Tiflis Governorate
, and likely a mix of both in the later (post-1878) settlements in Kars Oblast
). These conditions allowed the dialect to develop in comparative isolation from the "mainstream" Russian.
With the migration of some 7,500 Doukhbors from Transcaucasia to Saskatchewan in 1899, and some smaller latecomer groups (both from Transcaucasia and from places of exile in Siberia and elsewhere), the dialect spoken in the Doukhobor villages of Transcaucasia was brought to the plains of Canada
. From that point on it experienced influence from the English language of Canada
and, during the years of Doukhobor stay in Saskatchewan, the speech of Doukhobor's Ukrainian neighbors
.
A split in the Doukhobor community resulted in a large number of Doukhobors moving from Saskatchewan to south-eastern British Columbia
around 1910. Those who moved (the so-called "Community Doukhobors" – followers of Peter Verigin
's Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood
– continued living a communal lifestyle for several more decades, and had a better chance to preserve the Russian language than the "Independent Doukhobors", who stayed in Saskatchewan as individual farmers.
By the 1970s, as most Russia-born members of the community died, English became the first language of the great majority of Canadian Doukhobors. Their English speech is not noticeably different from that of other English-speaking Canadians of their provinces. Russian still remains in use, at least for religious use among those who do tractise the Doukhobor religion. However, practising Doukhobors are a shrinking group, with only some 3,800 persons in Canada identifying themselves as members of the Doukhobor religion as of the Canada 2001 Census
.
, e.g. use of the Southern [h] where Standard Russian has [g].
Features characteristic of a number of locales in the East Slavic
language space were noted as well, reflecting perhaps the heterogeneous origin of the Doukhobors' settlements in Molochna River after 1800, e.g., similarly to Belarusians
, Doukhobor speakers don't palatalize [r] in "редко" (redko, 'seldom'). Remarkable was the dropping of the final -t in the 3rd person singular form of verbs. This can be considered a Ukrainian feature, and it is also attested in some Russian dialects spoken in Southern Ukraine (e.g., Nikolaev
, not too far from the Doukhobors' old homeland on the Molochna).
As with other immigrant groups, the Russian speech of the Doukhobors uses English loanwords for some concepts that they had not encountered until moving to Canada.
Doukhobor
The Doukhobors or Dukhobors , earlierDukhobortsy are a group of Russian origin.The Doukhobors were one of the sects - later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a "way of life" - known generically as Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is...
s are a Christian sect who in 1899 established a number of commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
-style settlements in Western Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They have brought with them a Southern Russian dialect
Southern Russian dialects
Southern Russian is one of the main groups of Russian dialects.- Territory :* The territory of the primary formation is entirely 11 modern regions : Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk Tambov, Tula, Voronezh: and some southern parts of 3 regions:...
of their communities of origin, which over the following decades underwent some changes under the influence of the Canadian English environment and the speech of the Ukrainian settlers in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
Over several generations, this dialect has been mostly lost, as the modern descendants of the original Doukhobor migrants to Canada are typically native English speakers, and when they do speak Russian, it is typically a fairly standard variety of it.
The linguistic history of the Doukhobors
It is reasonable to assume that the formative period for the speech of the Doukhobors was the first four decades of the 19th century. It was in 1802 that the Doukhobors, as well as the members of Russia's other dissenter Christian groups, were encouraged to migrate to the Molochna River region, around MelitopolMelitopol
Melitopol is a city in the Zaporizhia Oblast of the southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River that flows through the eastern edge of the city and into the Molochnyi Liman, which eventually joins the Sea of Azov....
near Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
's Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
coast. Over the next 10–20 years, the Doukhobor, Molokan
Molokan
Molokans are sectarian Christians who evolved from "Spiritual Christian" Russian peasants that refused to obey the Russian Orthodox Church, beginning in the 17th century...
, and other settlers, speaking a variety of mostly Southern Russian dialects
Southern Russian dialects
Southern Russian is one of the main groups of Russian dialects.- Territory :* The territory of the primary formation is entirely 11 modern regions : Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk Tambov, Tula, Voronezh: and some southern parts of 3 regions:...
arrived to the Molochna from several provinces located, primarily, in what is today eastern Ukraine and south-central Russia. In the settlers' villages an opportunity thus arose for the formation of a certain dialect koiné
Koine language
In linguistics, a koiné language is a standard language or dialect that has arisen as a result of contact between two mutually intelligible varieties of the same language. Since the speakers have understood one another from before the advent of the koiné, the koineization process is not as rapid...
, based on Southern Russian and Eastern Ukrainian dialects.
Starting in 1841, the Doukhobors (as well as Molokans and certain other dissenters) were resettled from southern Ukraine to Transcaucasia, where they founded a number of villages surrounded by mostly non-Russian speaking neighbors (primarily Azerbaijanis in Elisabethpol Governorate
Elisabethpol Governorate
Elisabethpol Governorate or Elizavetpol Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Elisabethpol . Its area was 44,136 sq. kilometres, and it had 878,415 inhabitants by 1897....
, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
in Tiflis Governorate
Tiflis Governorate
Tiflis Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire with its centre in Tiflis . In 1897 it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants...
, and likely a mix of both in the later (post-1878) settlements in Kars Oblast
Kars Oblast
Kars Oblast was one of Transcaucasian governorates of Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was in the city of Kars, presently in the Republic of Turkey. The governorate bordered with the Ottoman Empire, Batum Oblast, Tiflis Governorate, Erivan Governorate, and from 1883 to 1903 with...
). These conditions allowed the dialect to develop in comparative isolation from the "mainstream" Russian.
With the migration of some 7,500 Doukhbors from Transcaucasia to Saskatchewan in 1899, and some smaller latecomer groups (both from Transcaucasia and from places of exile in Siberia and elsewhere), the dialect spoken in the Doukhobor villages of Transcaucasia was brought to the plains of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. From that point on it experienced influence from the English language of Canada
Canadian English
Canadian English is the variety of English spoken in Canada. English is the first language, or "mother tongue", of approximately 24 million Canadians , and more than 28 million are fluent in the language...
and, during the years of Doukhobor stay in Saskatchewan, the speech of Doukhobor's Ukrainian neighbors
Canadian Ukrainian
Canadian Ukrainian is a variety of the Ukrainian language specific to the Ukrainian Canadian community descended from the first two waves of historical Ukrainian emigration to Western Canada.Canadian Ukrainian was widely spoken from the beginning of Ukrainian...
.
A split in the Doukhobor community resulted in a large number of Doukhobors moving from Saskatchewan to south-eastern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
around 1910. Those who moved (the so-called "Community Doukhobors" – followers of Peter Verigin
Peter Vasilevich Verigin
Peter Vasilevich Verigin often known as Peter "Lordly" Verigin was a Russian philosopher, activist and preacher of the Doukhobors.- In Transcaucasia:...
's Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood
Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood
Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood was the main spiritual and economic organization of Canadian Doukhobors from the early 20th century until its bankruptcy in 1938...
– continued living a communal lifestyle for several more decades, and had a better chance to preserve the Russian language than the "Independent Doukhobors", who stayed in Saskatchewan as individual farmers.
By the 1970s, as most Russia-born members of the community died, English became the first language of the great majority of Canadian Doukhobors. Their English speech is not noticeably different from that of other English-speaking Canadians of their provinces. Russian still remains in use, at least for religious use among those who do tractise the Doukhobor religion. However, practising Doukhobors are a shrinking group, with only some 3,800 persons in Canada identifying themselves as members of the Doukhobor religion as of the Canada 2001 Census
Canada 2001 Census
The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
.
Features of the Doukhobor Russian dialect in Canada
According to Gunter Schaarschmidt's survey article ("Four norms..."), research into the Russian spoken by Canada's Doukhobors has not been extensive. However, a number of articles, mostly published in the 1960s and 70s, noted a variety of features in Doukhobors' Russian speech that were indeed characteristic of Southern, and in some cases Central Russian dialectsCentral Russian dialects
Central or Middle Russian dialects is one of the main groups of the Russian dialects. Being of Northern Russian origin, however assumed many Southern Russian features.The official dialect originates from a dialect from this group....
, e.g. use of the Southern [h] where Standard Russian has [g].
Features characteristic of a number of locales in the East Slavic
East Slavic languages
The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. It is the group with the largest numbers of speakers, far out-numbering the Western and Southern Slavic groups. Current East Slavic languages are Belarusian, Russian,...
language space were noted as well, reflecting perhaps the heterogeneous origin of the Doukhobors' settlements in Molochna River after 1800, e.g., similarly to Belarusians
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
, Doukhobor speakers don't palatalize [r] in "редко" (redko, 'seldom'). Remarkable was the dropping of the final -t in the 3rd person singular form of verbs. This can be considered a Ukrainian feature, and it is also attested in some Russian dialects spoken in Southern Ukraine (e.g., Nikolaev
Mykolaiv Oblast
Mykolaiv Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Mykolayiv.-Geography:The Mykolaiv Oblast is located in the southern half of Ukraine...
, not too far from the Doukhobors' old homeland on the Molochna).
As with other immigrant groups, the Russian speech of the Doukhobors uses English loanwords for some concepts that they had not encountered until moving to Canada.
Main source
- Gunter Schaarschmidt (University of Victoria, Canada) Four norms – one culture: Doukhobor Russian in Canada
Additional references
- Doukhobor Historical Maps by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff (Doukhobor Genealogy Website)
- Doukhobor Russian Paintings – Original artwork depicting their culture, heritage, and spirit