SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPETENCE OF A HUMANITIES TEACHER (USING THE EXAMPLE OF SOUTHERN UKRAINE)

Abstract

The article examines the complex of knowledge that is part of the competence of a humanities teacher, in particular on the history of the formation of linguistic and national relations in the South of Ukraine, as an obligatory component of a modern Ukrainian teacher who works with a new generation of Ukrainians in conditions of ideological and physical threat from the last empire in the world. It is determined that the southern territory, in particular the Kherson province, was the place of residence of the Zaporozhian Cossacks until the 18th century, and from the beginning of official colonization the region was replenished mainly from other Ukrainian provinces, which strengthened the national dominant. The arguments presented from the 1897 census data and the opinions of contemporary historians prove this dominant and even in the city - its presence. The presence of Ukrainian national identity was noted among the census respondents, who chose Ukrainian as their native language, despite the prestige and state status of Russian. These were representatives of different segments of the population, including nobles and merchants, clergy and officers. It was found that, unlike the city, where the Russian-speaking imperial subculture was formed, despite the actual predominance of Ukrainians, the village always remained the guardian of the Ukrainian language and culture, even under conditions when former peasants, having got to the city, mostly became Russian-speaking. And in general, the linguistic and national situation, according to all censuses since that time, remained unchanged – the quantitative predominance of Ukrainians by nationality and speakers of Ukrainian as their native language.
It is emphasized that a humanities teacher and in general any modern educator in the context of the current military confrontation must be aware of the anti-Ukrainian policy of the empire, which was built on the requirement of the Russification of the Ukrainian people, and in particular in the south, where historical traditions were not yet long-lasting. By order of Catherine II, such «Russification» was to take place as soon as possible – as a continuation of the policy of destroying the Zaporizhian Sich, which opposed the empire on its democratic principles. It is emphasized that the Soviet ideology of the «merger of nations» continued the anti-Ukrainian policy of the Russian empire. It is concluded that such imperative measures could not destroy Ukrainian identity, even when implemented in the educational sphere, which needs to be studied in this context.

Received: November 11, 2025
Accepted: December 08, 2025
Published: January 16, 2026