Shadows of a Forgotten World

I've collected quite a few more old Galician/Ukrainian diasporan words since my first post on the subject, which can be found here  (plus post about the word "rover" here .) When I talk in Ukrainian to my parents or other Ukrainians in the diaspora, I still hear words from them that I don't hear in Ukraine, i.e., archaic, often Polish, and sometimes anglicized Ukrainian words.  Here are some new ones that I didn't post last time: Note: these are words that I've heard from my relatives in the States, and they might not be used by all the diaspora. *** Last time I was in Chicago I found this Ukrainian children's dictionary at home. It was published in Canada, but not sure what year. It includes a lot of our old words. One of the biggest linguistic challenges for me when I moved to Ukraine was to use the word "ovochi" for "vegetables" instead of for "fruit," because like in Polish, in the diaspora we use the ...

This sidewalk stamp says: "Zarząd Miejski m. Lucka" (Municipal Board of the City Lutsk). This curb dates from the interwar period when Lutsk was part of the Second Polish Republic (1920-1939) 

The pre-WWII company Ferrum Lwow not only made manhole covers  and storm drains but also manufactured and/or laid cement sidewalks. The stamps served as an identification and advertisement. 

To continue my last post on Przemysl... Here's a new  ghost sign ! as well as some more manhole covers an old fence with the manufacturer's name and boot scrapers!

An interesting article in the Guardian about the world's "ghost stations." "Underground travel has become a familiar routine for millions of urban dwellers, but most commuters are unaware that lurking on the other side of the walls are the remains of abandoned stations, slowly deteriorating. Known as "ghost stations", they are silent but powerful reminders of forgotten history." image from the Guardian

Volodymyr Koziuk started documenting thatched-roof houses 30 years ago. First he started painting them, then taking photos of them. “When I was searching for these houses, everyone laughed at me: ‘What a fool, spending time on old houses,’” says artist and philanthropist Volodymyr Koziuk.  Volodymyr doesn’t regret all the time and money he spent on this multi-year project because he believes it is unique. “Today many of these houses are gone, but there are photos, paintings. They are preserved in many of Ukraine’s museums.” Thanks to people like Volodymyr, these remnants of the past have been preserved and documented.  This house is over 300 years old. It is one of the two oldest houses in Ukraine. More photos and the article in Ukrainian can be found at here . 

We sing certain Ukrainian songs in the diaspora that are unknown or have been forgotten in Ukraine. I think the most powerful and saddest one is "Mamo." It's about a boy who during WWII was in the Majdanek concentration camp. (The camp was named after the Majdan Tatarski district in Lublin. Majdanek means “little maidan.”) Every night he sings out to his mother, but he can't get to her because of the barbed wire…  We used to sing "Mamo" at Ukrainian summer camp. It was always one of my favorites, but at the same time the saddest one. Unfortunately, these days new war, tragedy, farewell, and death songs are again being composed and sung in Ukraine. From the singers Darka & Slavko: “We first sang this song together in April 1986 at an evening dedicated to the poetry of Ukrainian political prisoners. This is dedicated to all those who are fighting for Ukraine's freedom and who have died for it. And to borrow a phrase from our friend Peter S...