TEXT AND NARRATIVE: COSSACK RULERS IN UKRAINIAN AND POLISH WIKIPEDIA

Abstract

The study of articles on Wikipedia, and especially different language versions, is very relevant because firstly Wikipedia is now an important source of knowledge in the Slavic world, and secondly it can enable an Wikipedia is also an arena for competing for readers' attention, manipulating opinions, and forming new myths. The article analyzes the figures of Ukrainian hetmans Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ivan Mazepa, and Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny as they are portrayed in Ukrainian and Polish versions of Wikipedia. We used methods of Narratology, Cognitive Linguistics, Functional Grammar, Communicative Syntax, and Quantitative Linguistics (computer statistics). It concludes that Ukrainian articles are more emotional, sometimes aimed at justifying heroes, but Polish versions present a more moderate view of historical figures. In lexical-syntactic terms, Polish articles are simpler for perception, although semantically the images of Ukrainian hetmans are incomplete. Clearly, such interlinguistic studies of materials in Web 2.0 are productive and capable of depicting a movement of knowledge about history in broad sections of society. The research was conducted as part of the OPUS project “Historical narratives in Web 2.0 as a functional element of national identities in Central and Eastern Europe”.