Yuri I. Shevchuk, Senior Lecturer in Ukrainian

Yuri I. Shevchuk, Senior Lecturer in Ukrainian

Education

MA in theory and practice of translation, Kyiv State University, Kyiv, Ukraine, 1982

Ph.D. in Germanic Philology (English lexicology), Kyiv State University, Kyiv, Ukraine, 1987

MA in political science (comparative politics and American government), New School for Social Research, New York, NY, 1996

Research Interests

Foreign language pedagogy, Ukrainian language, sociolinguistics, culture and identity, language and politics, post-colonial theories, film studies.

Publications

The Ukrainian-English Collocation Dictionary 

Hippocrene Books, New York, 2021, 1,000 pages, 8.5 x 1.89 x 10.87 inches, 4.7 lb.

The 1000-page tome has no precedents in Ukrainian, Slavic or English lexicography and combines features of six types of dictionaries: 1) bilingual (translation), 2) collocation, 3) learner’s, 4) phraseological, 5) thesaurus, and 6) encyclopedic. The Dictionary is meant for Ukrainian language learners of all levels of proficiency (elementary, intermediate, advanced and superior), Ukrainian language instructors and instructors of theory and practice of translation, Ukrainian-English and English-Ukrainian translators and interpreters, comparative linguists, lexicographers, researchers, business people, journalists, and anyone with an interest in the Ukrainian language. It is an irreplaceable resource for Ukrainian-speakers who study English and native speakers of Ukrainian who wish to perfect and enrich their Ukrainian.

For more about the Dictionary, please, watch this promo clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWJmi9Jc0uE

Peer Reception of the Ukrainian-English Collocation Dictionary

“… Shevchuk has not only produced an infinitely helpful resource for anyone interested in Ukrainian, but given us one of the most breathtaking scholarly achievements in Slavonic Studies in many years. It is a monument to the Ukrainian language and a watershed in its development on the global stage…”

Rory Finnin, Associate Professor of Ukrainian Studies, University of Cambridge, UK

“… Yuri Shevchuk’s Ukrainian-English Collocation Dictionary is a tour de force and a marvelously useful tool for learners and translators of Ukrainian. It should be in every major library as well as in the personal possession of everyone interested in Ukrainian studies or the Ukrainian language.”

Michael M. Naydan, Woskob Family Professor of Ukrainian Studies, the Pennsylvania State University

“… I am at a loss for words about this dictionary, which is worth ten stars [out of five available on amazon.com]. Perhaps users of dictionaries often skip any introductory remarks. … Well, the introduction, in both English and Ukrainian, is an absolute must-read here. But do then go on to looking words up … and so far I’ve never failed to find what I wanted, not to mention learning so much I didn’t expect to learn.

Ian Press, Emeritus Professor, School of Modern Languages, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK.

 

Beginner's Ukrainian

This popular language textbook with an interactive website offers an easy, effective, and fun way for beginners to learn how to read, write, speak and understand Ukrainian.

The second edition has been updated with new exercises, grammar lessons, photographs and illustrations. Beginner s Ukrainian covers such common conversational topics as meeting people, traveling, shopping, hobbies, family relations, vacationing, meals, weather, and much more. Priority is given to developing learners conversational skills while providing them with a solid grammar foundation. The book s companion website offers a wealth of interactive conversational, grammar, and phonetic drills designed for use by both independent and instructor-led learners.

The book includes fifteen useful lessons, covering everyday situations such as introductions, family, and shopping
An interactive website featuring audio dialogues and exercises recorded using native speakers is also available to users.

The guide also includes useful cultural and grammatical notes; appendices of critical information, including declension tables, noun endings, common Ukrainian names, numbers, verb conjugations and more; and a Ukrainian-English/ English-Ukrainian dictionary of words used in the book.

Yuri Shevchuk’s translation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm is published in Kyiv.

 

 

Interviews & Media Appearances

1. Article on the information war under Russian aggression against Ukraine in the leading Ukrainian national website Ukrainska Pravda (March 10, 2014):

http://www.pravda.com.ua/columns/2014/03/10/7018260/

2. Article on the language situation during the Russian aggression against Ukraine now in the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (Mirror of the Week), a highly respected national weekly publication in Ukraine (published in Ukrainian and Russian (July 11, 2014):

(Ukrainian) http://gazeta.dt.ua/socium/ob-yednannya-navkolo-odniyeyi-derzhavnoyi-movi-kategorichniy-imperativ-_.html

(Russian) http://gazeta.zn.ua/socium/obedinenie-vokrug-odnogo-gosudarstvennogo-yazyka-kategoricheskiy-imperativ-_.html

3. Interview on the Ukrainian Public Radio (Hromadske Radio) (July 18, 2014): 

http://hromadskeradio.org/2014/07/18/yuriy-shevchuk-pro-vikladannya-ukrayinskoyi-movi-ta-movnu-shizofreniyu/

4. Interview on the Ukrainian Television Channel Kultura (their answer to the US PBS’s Charlie Rose) (August 22, 2014):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jcuiwammjs

Also:

1. Interview on Radio Kultura, Kyiv, Ukraine, May 30, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

http://schedule.nrcu.gov.ua/grid/channel/period/item-listen-popup.html?periodItemID=878286

2. The lecture “The Policy of Language Pairing and the Future of the Ukrainian Language”, June 2, 2015, the University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine (in Ukrainian).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3o82fk8v_Q#t=17

3. Segment on language situation, bilingualism in Ukraine on the ICTV Ukrainian national TV channel (in Ukrainian)

http://fakty.ictv.ua/ua/index/view-media/id/92290

4. “Ukrainian Identity, Language, and Culture after the Revolution of Dignity,” public lecture at the Ye Bookstore, Kyiv, Ukraine, June 3, 2015 (in Ukrainian).

https://www.mixcloud.com/viktor-ishchenko/лекція-юрія-шевчука-на-тему-українська-ідентичність-мова-і-культура-після-майдану-книгарня-є

5. Interview on the popular program Evening with Mykola Kniazhytsky of the Espresso TV, Kyiv, Ukraine, June 5, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6THs5QY47k&list=PLCPC7CzMu8ouuyOZ84w-L4KywJSFB0xEs&index=1

6. Interview for the Ukrainian broadcast division of Radio Liberty, June 8, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

http://www.radiosvoboda.mobi/a/27059088.html

7. Interview on the Morning in Kyiv, popular news program of the Kyiv TV, June 10, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPasQ2JUJPA&feature=youtu.be

8. Quote in the Uriadovy Kurier (Government Courier) on the state of Ukrainian filmmaking, June 13, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

http://www.ukurier.gov.ua/uk/articles/chi-zmozhe-odna-gvardiya-podolati-sotnyu-specnazu

9. Interview on the state of language, identity and culture for the glavcom.ua June 19, 2015

(in Ukrainian) http://glavcom.ua/articles/30152.html

10. Reprint of the interview for glavcom.ua web site by the http://ukrajina.tak.today June 23, 2015

(in Ukrainian) http://ukrajina.tak.today/shevchyk-perexodyty-na-rosijsku

11. Interview for the Zakhid Studio of the Espresso TV, July 4, 2015 (in Ukrainian) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P5ahzI5bK8&feature=youtu.be

12. Interview for the zik.ua on the policy of language pairing as a new powerful tool of Russification in Ukraine, July 8, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

http://zik.ua/ua/analytics/2015/07/08/yuriy_shevchuk_movna_shyzofreniya__nova_potuzhna_forma_rusyfikatsii_605587

13. Interview for the Hromadske Radio (Public Radio), Kyiv, Ukraine on the language situation in Ukraine, July 19, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

http://hromadskeradio.org/gromadska-hvylya/zhodna-tytulna-naciya-ne-vypravdovuyetsya-za-pravo-maty-odnu-derzhavnu-movu-yuriy-shevchuk

14. Nazifying Ukraine on the Silver Screen in the Wake of the Tribeca Film Festival, article published by two leading Ukrainian filmmaking industry publications: kinokolo.ua, screenplay.com.ua and the Ukrainian National Filmmakers’ Union, April 30, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

http://kinokolo.ua/articles/836/

http://www.screenplay.com.ua/articles/?id=846

http://ukrkino.com.ua/kinotext/articles/?id=1937

15. American Film in Search of a Ukrainian Protagonist. Is It Possible to Be Ukrainian without Being One, a film review of the feature documentary Crocodile Gennadiy competing at the Tribeca Film Festival 2015, published by two leading Ukrainian filmmaking industry publications: kinokolo.ua, screenplay.com.ua and the Ukrainian National Filmmakers’ Union, May 15, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

http://screenplay.com.ua/articles/?id=854

http://kinokolo.ua/articles/837/

http://www.ukrkino.com.ua/news/?id=2045

16. Article on the state of the Ukrainian filmmaking on the telekritika.ua July 21, 2015 (in Ukrainian).

http://www.telekritika.ua/kontekst/2015-07-21/109378

17. Article on the state of the Ukrainian filmmaking in the leading filmmaking industry publication screenplay.com.ua July 26, 2015 (in Ukrainian)

http://www.screenplay.com.ua/articles/?id=914

18. Yuri Shevchuk speaks at the United Nations International Mother Language Day, on Feb 22, 2016

19. Yuri Shevchuk speaks on Ukrainian language for the Columbia University Language Resource Center

Invited Lectures

Dr. Shevchuk has extensively lectured in North America, Europe, and Ukraine, including such universities as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, University of Toronto, McGuill, University of Puerto Rico in Rio Peidras, University of Milan, La Sapienza University in Rome, University of Federico II (Naples), University of Cambridge, University of Granada, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland, Karabük University (Turkey), the National Taras Shevchenko University (Kyiv), the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the National Ivan Karazin University (Kharkiv), the National Ivan Franko University (Lviv), the Ukrainian Catholic University and many others. He is often invited to speak on the Ukrainian radio and television on issues of identity, language, film, and decolonization. His popular essay “Language Schizophrenia. Whither, Ukraine?” published in Ukraine as a pamphlet by the Discursus Publishers in 2015 provoked a national discussion about language, identity and nation-building. His latest publication “Language in Contemporary Ukrainian Filmmaking. Decolonization or Neocolonialism?” was published in Zbruc on January 26, 2021.