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of thought on this subject, I would recommend the golden mean: giving as accurate a transcription as possible, without at the same time losing a sense of the flow of the conversation. Some oral authors will be more idiosyncratic than others: I would retain that unusual flavor in the transcription. It is the uniqueness of the oral author that you should not lose sight of. Transcription is a long and tedious process with one hour of tape generating about forty pages of text and sometimes the interviewer is inclined to have someone else do the trans cription. While this is certainly convenient, it is not very instructive. As we have seen, transcription can be an excellent vehicle for an interviewer’s selfevaluation and a valuable lesson for the future. Furthermore, there are times when a third party simply would not be able to interpret certain remarks or expres sions that were accompanied by gestures or smiles or other forms of non-verbal communication that only the interviewer was exposed to. In addition to transcription, another post-interview activity is the creation of an index of names (of people and places) to accompany the text. These names may be compiled as the oral author is speaking, or during the transcription process, or after re-reading the transcribed text. In any case, the index is meant to be an aid to any future researchers who may wish to quickly evaluate whether the information they seek is to be found in this particular source. Another important research aid which should be prepared is a one-page summary of the interview, covering such general information as where the oral author was born, significance of his/her life, community activism, life’s work, associations, etc. This summary is attached to the front of the text and again, helps future researchers evaluate immediately the relevance of this particular oral history to their own research. After the transcript has been typed and indexes compiled, it is necessary to send oral author copies of these materials for correction (and a copy for him/her to keep). He/she may want to adjust a date, omit a reference to someone, or make additional minor points. You should discourage the oral author from over editing or revising the text, however. Some oral authors have been known to polish up their transcripts beyond recognition, which of course eliminates the spontaneity of the original inter view. So be sure to point out that the corrections are for minor details only. After corrections have been made, re-type any changes. The transcription is now ready for storage. Now the question arises: where will the materials be stored and who will have access to them? This is of course something that was probably considered at the beginning of the project and now only needs to be implemented. Presumably, you have a written author ization from the oral author allowing access to the materials for any interested persons. Obviously, the tapes and transcripts should be kept in a safe, clean, dry area that is easily accessible to the public. Public libraries, university research centers, organization headquarters (which often house libraries), community or church centers or museums come to mind. Needless to say, it is important to publicize the fact that the materials are available so that interested persons may utilize them. The biggest question of all is: who should be doing oral history projects in the Ukrainian community? If you’ve been interested enough to read all the articles in this series the answer is probably "You” ! Of course, it takes time, dedication and careful research. But an oral history project is enjoyable, YOUR CHILDREN, SCHOLARSHIPS AND... THE STUDY OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE. Not too long ago, our press ran announcem ents about scholarships available to Ukrainian youth from diffe rent sources. Only one of those avai lable clearly delineated that it was allo cated for those, who were planning to take Ukrainian studies courses. The problem of our scholarships and our children or grandchildren was touched upon by a professor P., a historian, during dinner one night at my daughter’s house. There is a Slavic department at the universoty where he teaches which offers courses in Ukrai nian literature and language, among other Slavic courses. Professor P. told us about a fellow professor of his who often confide in him about his Ukrainian students. Usually, at least half the students in each Russian language class are of Ukrainian background. Some of them know Ukrainian very well, others just a little. During the first few classes, they are some of the happiest students in the class since they are already quite familiar with the entire Russian alphabet and are able to understand many of the Russian words and phrases. Therefore, they begin to feel that they will not have a very hard time learning a foreign language. However, they soon realize that relying on their previous knowledge of Ukrainian is not enough. At this point, they find themselves at a crossroad. Some continue to read and speak Russian with a Ukrainian accent. Others work harder and do eventually conquer the Russian pronunciation. The professors frequently mock these Ukrai nian students of Russian. The ones they mock are not those, who plan to even tually specialize in Slavic languages and literatures. Instead, it is the students of biology, pharmacy, engineering, e. g., but who need to take some foreign language is order to complete their requirements that are scorned. When posed the question of why they do not take Ukrainian as this language require ment, most of the students are quite obviously stumped. Some claim that it is because they want a more ’’ important” or "famous” language on their record. Others say that they want to get away from anything that reminds themof home, Saturday language schools or their parents. And, how could they possibly do this if they take Ukrainian as their required language? ’’Mrs. Luba, one day I met the daughter of some friends of mine who had already been taking Russian courses for two years and was even living in a dorm, where everyone was required to speak only Russian. Imagine, "Natasha” , as she now was known, had already become so removed from her Ukrainian back ground, that I noticed how poorly she was now speaking Ukrainian. Rarely did she visit her parents and so she forgot what she had once known”. ’’But professor, surely you are not saying that Ukrainians are not supposed to learn foreign languages?” — I asked. ” On the contrary, the more languages they learn the better it is for their own maturation. But, the languages they choose should be picked according to each person’s needs and qualifi cations. Some will find more of a need for German, Spanish or even Chinese in their future careers. Future Slavophiles or East European historians should c o n c e n tra te on va rio u s S lavic languages.; But those, who do not need a foreign language or who have no language skills whatsoever should not run away from the language of their heritage. Very frequently, our students choose Russian not because of intellec tual needs but due to simple laziness and the quite mistaken supposition that they will have a very easy time of it. 24 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 1978 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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