Rover: Bicycle Galician-Style

In the Ukrainian diaspora we call a bicycle a "rover" – the word which was commonly used in western Ukraine before the war. Now in Ukraine the word "velosyped" is most widely used, but people in western Ukraine, espеcially in villages, still often say "rover." 

The first bicycles that were sold in western Ukraine were made by the British company Starley & Sutton (later called Rover Company):

"In the early 1880s, the cycles available were the relatively dangerous penny-farthings and high-wheel tricycles. J.K. Starley made history in 1885 by producing the Rover Safety Bicycle—a rear-wheel-drive, chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels... Starley's Rover is usually described by historians as the first recognisably modern bicycle.

"The Polish word now most commonly used for bicycle – rower originates from Rover bicycles which had both wheels of the same size (previous models usually had one bigger, one smaller – see Penny-farthing, and were called in Polish bicykl, from English bicycle).

"The words for "bicycle" in Polish (Rower) and Belarusian (Rovar, Ро́вар) are derived from the name of the company. The word ровер is also used in many parts of Western Ukraine."

"Velosyped" entered the Ukrainian language (central Ukraine) from the French word vélocipède – the word which was widely used in the 1860-70s in Europe. "Velosyped" remained in use in central Ukraine while in Europe and America the words "bicyclette" and "bicycle" replaced "velocipede." Eventually the word "velosyped" spread throughout all of Ukraine.

Other words for bicycle used in Ukraine: "koleso" ("wheel") and "bitsygli" (from "bicycle").

Below is a short article on the history of the words for bicycle in Ukrainian, which I found in a North American Plast (Ukrainian scounting organization) magazine from 1995. The whole issue can be found here: http://www.plast.ca/bm~doc/kn_rovery.pdf



This is a map of western Ukraine showing which areas use which word for bicycle: ровер (rover), велосипед/лісапед (velosyped/lisaped), колесо (koleso), and біціґлі (bitsigli).
http://dialectstat.wikispaces.com/


Ukrainian translation of this article can be found at www.roverchic.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Antique Metal Roller Shutters in Lviv

Image
Lviv still has quite a few Austrian- and Polish-era metal roller shutters, which cover windows and doors of old storefronts. Some of the shutters are still used; most, however, look as if they haven’t been opened in decades. The panels with the locks are stamped with the manufacturer’s mark – typically the company’s name and location, some even with a street address, such as the company N. Bielicki Lwów , which was located on ul. Gródecka 43 (Horodotska St.). this panel is upside down - I think because several old shutters were used to patch up this door as seen in picture below Prague
Read more

Antique Iron Fences in Chicago

Image
I discovered some old fences while in the States this summer  –  first I found several beautiful antique fences on Hoyne Street in Chicago, and then I came across some in my suburb and in Annapolis, and now back in Lviv I have also started paying attention to them.  In all three places  –  Chicago, Winnetka, and Annapolis  –  I found fences made by Stewart Iron Works. This is not surprising as at one point this company was the largest iron fence maker in the world. *** The Stewart Iron Works Cincinnati Ohio Stewart Iron Works, an ironworks plant located in Covington, Kentucky, was founded in 1886 and incorporated in 1910. A branch in Cincinnati operated from 1903 to 1915.  Cincinnati Iron Fence Co. – Inc – Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.  Produced fences from the late nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries W.T. Barbee Fence Works It’s hard to find information about this company: "This company was apparently located i
Read more

The Ukrainian Alphabet and the Soft Sign

Image
There are several differences in the Ukrainian alphabets used in the diaspora and in Ukraine, in particular, what we call the alphabet, the way we pronounce the letters, the melody we use when singing the alphabet (or the lack there of a song), as well as the difference I only recently discovered - the placement of the soft sign. In Ukraine the soft sign "ь" doesn't come at the end of the alphabet as I learned, but third to last. It was quite a big shock for me to discover. However, this was a relatively recent change. In 1990, the soft sign was moved from the end of the alphabet to the place after the letter "щ" as it is in the Russian alphabet. I'm surprised it wasn't moved back a year later when Ukraine gained its independence. First of all, we usually say "азбука" or "абетка" while in Ukraine it is more common to say "aлфавіт" or "абетка" (for children). When we (at least my Chicago diaspora community) sing
Read more