History and prospects of lexicographic processing of the Ukrainian language of the early written period (from the project of the “Dictionary of the Old Church Slavonic language of the east Slavic edition” to the creation of the “Dictionary of the Ukrainian language of the 10th–13th centuries”)

The article examines the history, conceptual foundations, and prospects of lexicographic analysis of the Ukrainian language of the early written period, with particular attention to the unfinished scholarly project “Dictionary of Old Church Slavonic of the East Slavic redaction of the 11^th–13^th centuries” (SSM–SR) and the possibilities of its modern adaptation. The genesis of the project from the 1950s is traced, and the scholarly context of its emergence, international Slavic studies initiatives, and the factors that led to the creation of dictionaries of local redactions of Old Church Slavonic are elucidated. The article provides a detailed description of the principles of source selection for the SSM–SR, the methodology of card-file compilation, the scope of completed work, and the state of its preservation. Special attention is given to the mapping of the 11^th–13^th-century manuscript tradition, to the genre and territorial diversity of the textual corpus, and to the principles of linguistic attribution.

The study demonstrates how, since the 1990s, scholarly understanding of the Ukrainian redaction of Church Slavonic and its place in the history of the Ukrainian language has transformed. It traces the formation of a new canon of sources — book, epigraphic, and secular — representative of the Ukrainian linguistic and cultural environment of the Rus’ period. The contribution of V.V. Nimchuk to defining the boundaries and status of the Ukrainian redaction of Church Slavonic and to its inclusion in the history of Ukrainian written culture is also examined. Based on this analysis, the authors argue for the need to reconceptualize the unfinished SSM–SR project as a potential foundation for a “Dictionary of the Ukrainian language of the 11^th (10^th)–13^th centuries”, which would reflect the actual linguistic system of the early Ukrainian tradition in both its bookish and non-bookish forms.