Iazychie ( Ukrainian: Язичіє, romanized: Yazychiie; Rusyn: Язычіє, romanized: Yazŷchiie) was an artificial literary East Slavic language used in the 19th century and the early 20th century in Halychyna, Bukovina, and Zakarpattia in publishing, particularly by Ukrainian and Carpatho-Rusyn Russophiles (Moskvophiles). [1] [2] It was an unsystematic combination of Russian with the lexical, phonetic and grammatical elements of vernacular Ukrainian and Rusyn, Church Slavonic, Ruthenian, Polish, and Old Slavic. [1] [2]
The term was introduced by Ukrainophiles, who used it pejoratively. [3] Nikolay Chernyshevsky called "Iazychie" a mutilation of the language and sharply condemned it. [1] Ivan Franko and other representatives of the contemporary territories of today's Western Ukraine's progressive intelligentsia also opposed "Iazychie". [1] The proponents of the language themselves called it the "traditional Carpatho-Rusyn language". [4] Russophiles saw it as a tool against Polish influence and a transition to Russian literary language, considering local dialects to be a "speech of swineherds and shepherds". [5]
Що єсть тепло и свѣтло — того дово̂дно оучени̂ єще не знаютъ. Но безъ свѣтла и тепла нїяка изъ нашихъ пашниць не може оудатися. — Свѣтло, здаеся, возбуджае въ рослинахъ силу, которою они оуглянный квасъ, амонїякъ, воду, и другое поживлѣнье розкладаютъ на части, зъ ıакихъ тїи рѣчи повстаютъ, — и — потребное въ себе вживаютъ, остальное же назадъ воздухови о̂тдаютъ. На пр. оугляный квасъ розкладаютъ они на єго части, на квасородъ и оуглеродъ, и оуглеродъ вживаютъ въ себе, квасородъ же о̂тдаютъ воздухови, и тымъ способомъ воздухъ все о̂тсвѣжуютъ. Но все то дѣеся лишь днемъ при свѣтлѣ солнечно̂мъ, ночїю же нѣ; и также днемъ при захмарено̂мъ небѣ робота тая оуже имъ складно не иде, а для тоговъ хмарнїи роки овощи николи не буваютъ смачни̂ та тревали̂. (1875)