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The article analyses the system of methodological principles employed in the comprehensive study of linguistic variation in diachrony. In particular, the author defines the essence of the scientific principle as a means of linguistic study as well as thoroughly describes the system of methodological principles of a diachronic study of any linguistic variations. The described methodological foundations of a diachronic study are substantiated through the prism of Ukrainian written monuments of the late Middle Ages. The paper also outlines the prospects of further theoretical and methodological scientific studies for historical linguistics. The study material comprises more than nine thousand variable language elements, recorded in the texts of business and religious writing of the late Middle Ages. The sources for the study are represented by handwritten and printed monuments of the official style of the Old Ukrainian language and the religious style of the Church Slavonic language of the Ukrainian edition. As a result of the carried out research, it has been defined that the methodology of diachronic study of variable language phenomena is based on the principles of a scientific and objective approach to the variation of the literary language in historical conditions on the basis of a complex unity of historical, systemic, anthropocentric, and synergetic directions of linguistic studies. The described methodological aspects of the study of linguistic variations can be used in training courses of general linguistics, historical grammar of the Ukrainian language, the history of the Ukrainian literary language and historical dialectology as well as in the following optional courses: "Language Variation in Diachrony", "Principles and Methods of Linguistic Analysis of Linguistic Variation", "Formation of the Ukrainian Language Standards" for students of philological departments.

The article analyzes the linguistic and stylistic features of the work entitled «[Слово] надгробное... Кипріану...» by Gregory Tsamblak, proclaimed by the metropolitan in Kyiv around 1409. The text is characterized by a high level of verbal and artistic skill. The author uses traditional means of depiction, acts as an innovator, applying a whole system of linguistic means: units of the lexical level, artistic tropes (figuresof speech): linguistic repetitions, antonyms, epithets, metaphors, comparisons. Through the use of structurally similar words and typical syntactic constructions, the artist achieves the creation of a certain architectonics of the sacred text and its rhythmization. They help to emphasize the closeness of Gregory Tsamblak to his spiritual father Cyprian, to exalt his activities, and to express the depth of the loss of his mentor. The distinctive signs of the 'word-weaving' style, revealed in the work, testify not only to its affiliation to the high style of religious writing, but also increased attention to the inner world of man, which corresponds to the ideas of hesychasm of that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article suggests considering the phenomenon of language variation in the diachronic aspect. The objectives of our work are to study the phonetic variation in the Cyrillic documents of the Principality of Moldavia of the period of the 14th-15th centuries, to find out the causes of graphic and phonetic variants occurrence, to establish spelling trends and oral influences in the written and literary language of that time. The phenomenon of phonetic parallelism can be traced in handwritten texts from such settlements as: Iasi, Khotyn, Neamt, Putna, Roman, Suceava, Vaslui, etc. The analysis of parallel language units in vocalism and consonantism of Moldavian charters has been carried out, and the variation of sound combinations has been characterized. The results of the study of variation language units in the texts of Moldavian charters allow concluding that church Slavonic phonetic reflexes are the elements of old Cyrillic written language. Moreover, the variation spellings show phonetic signs of Ukrainian dialect speech: prominent features of the Pokuttia-Bukovyna and Podillia dialects are preserved in the Ukrainian south-western territories to this day. Phonetic and spelling features of the influence of other linguistic systems, primarily the second South Slavic influence, as well as some phonetic features of the Polish and Romanian languages, are detected in parallel forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the analysis of liturgical texts of the 14th--15th centuries created in the territory of Ukraine, expressive signs of interaction between the Old Bulgarian graphic and spelling system and the Ukrainian folk speech are recorded. Manifestations of the phonetic and graphic South Slavic-Ukrainian variability are associated with the following linguistic phenomena in the vocalism and consonantism of religious monuments: continuity of the former*ę,*'a and *Q; change of the initial *jе into o; transition of e into o after hushings and ц; reduction of и > ь before iotated vowels; confusion of unstressed и and е; development of sound combinations *tort, *tolt, *tеrt, *tеlt; reflexes of sound combinations ъp, ъл, ьp, ьл; hardening of p'; hardness/softness of hushing consonants; dissimilation and simplification of consonants; change of sound combinations *dj, *zdj and *tj, *kt . In the phonetic system of the studied monuments, the interaction of the traditional writing of that time and the local vernacular is observed, in particular, the phonetic features of the North Ukrainian and the South-West Ukrainian dialects are revealed. The study of the language of religious monuments taking into account the results of other research in the field of philology, paleography, theology has undeniable prospects for linguistic interpretation of church books with the definition of local language traditions of the time, their localization as elements of the Slavic written culture, resolving debatable issues regarding the formation, chronology and systematization of the church-written corpus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]