On the eve of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which is celebrated every year on February 11, we had a great pleasure talking with a young researcher, teacher of the Department of Germanic Philology, Anzhelika Likhachova. Recently, she defended her thesis and obtained the scientific degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of philological sciences.

We heartily congratulate Anzhelika Viktorivna, as well as all the scientists of the Horliv Institute of Foreign Languages, on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science! This day is designed to promote full and equal access of women and girls to participation in science, the opportunity to become leaders, thereby improving the world. In our opinion, the scientists of the Horliv Institute of Foreign Languages quite succeed in this...

Anzhelika Viktorivna, why did you choose the profession of teacher?

I would answer that it is a hereditary choice. After all, it was thanks to my family that I always had the awareness that my professional future would be related to the pedagogical field in one way or another. In fact, for me, the first and brightest examples of wisdom, resilience, perseverance and moving forward, through all the difficulties, both in various aspects of life and in professional activities, are my mother and grandmother. It was they who became my guides to the pedagogical and scientific worlds. A grandmother with more than 50 years of work experience at the school in various positions and, in particular, a teacher of the Ukrainian language and literature. And also my mother, who has been working as an English teacher for as long as I can remember. Their dedication and love for their profession has always been an inspiration and a model for choosing their profession. Therefore, after school, without thinking, I submitted my documents and entered the Horliv Institute of Foreign Languages. By the way, studying at our institute can also be called a "family affair", because my parents studied and met thanks to our Alma Mater.

What inspired you? do science? Do you remember your first scientific conference at which you spoke?

It seems to me that more conscious scientific work began in the fourth year of study. The first such "large-scale" research at that time was the writing of a term paper under the supervision of candidate of philological sciences, associate professor Lyudmila Illivna Serdyukova. While studying the stylistics course taught by Lyudmila Illivna, I became interested in various features of language learning, which led to the writing of the work. This became a kind of inspiration and impetus to continue working on writing theses, articles, and later dissertation research.

As for the first conference where I spoke, it was the VI International Scientific Conference "East Slavic Philology: from Nestor to the present." It was held in April 2018, it was already my first year of work as a teacher of the Department of Germanic Philology, but I really remember that it was exciting to present my report to colleagues, professionals with such work experience, and then answer questions. However, everything worked out, the main thing is to believe, ask for help when needed and listen to advice.

How did you choose the topic of your dissertation? What interested you the most in this topic?

Of course, when choosing a topic for such a large, complex and multi-component work as a dissertation research, many factors must be taken into account, such as relevance and uniqueness. Pay attention to what interests you, what the academic supervisor advises. In my case, the impetus for choosing a topic was one of the questions on the entrance exam when I entered graduate school. It was connected with the genealogical classification of Indo-European languages. In preparation for the exam, I studied a lot of available material on this topic and I was really interested in studying this problem. However, a rather small number of works devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the genealogical classification of Indo-European languages, and especially in the linguistic-historiographical aspect, was also noticeable. It became clear that the issue is complex and debatable. Based on all this, the scientific supervisor and I came to the conclusion that the direction of the topic is clear to us. Volodymyr Andriyovych Glushchenko directed and helped with the formulation of the topic in order to carry out important and significant work in this aspect in the future. Thus, the topic of our research was "Genealogical classification of Indo-European languages in the linguistics of the 19th - early 21st centuries."

What were the main tasks and goals of your research?

Our work, as I have already said, is aimed at a comprehensive linguistic-historiographical study of the genealogical classification of Indo-European languages in the linguistics of the 19th century - the beginning of the 21st century. It is emphasized that at the present stage this classification is an important component of comparativistics. The foundations of genealogical classification were developed in the 19th century. on the material of Indo-European languages as a result of establishing the genetic identity of a number of languages of Europe, India and some other regions. In our study, the sources of the emergence and spread of comparative linguistics in the 19th century were noted, the hypotheses and theories of scientists of the studied period regarding the connections of different languages were considered, views on linguistic genealogy and the scientific application of the principle of language kinship were described. The principle of historicism, on the basis of which reconstructions of the Proto-Indo-European language and other proto-languages were carried out, the linguistic structure of language families and macrofamilies and hyperfamilies was modeled, and the genealogical classification of languages in the linguistics of the specified period was confirmed in detail. The theoretical and methodological principles of language kinship research are revealed, in particular, emphasis is placed on the relationship between the principle of historicism, the principle of language kinship and genealogical classification.

What was the most difficult for you in the process of writing the dissertation?

First of all, there are difficulties in the interpretation, systematization and structuring of the material related to the research topic. There is a lot of material, it must be carefully selected and systematically processed.

The researcher's position is objectivity. A specialist in the history of linguistics seeks to objectively show the process of creating scientific hypotheses and concepts, to open the way to discoveries, to the truth. Even a hypothesis later rejected by science can play a positive role in the history of linguistics.

How did you cook?I before the defense of the thesis? What aspects did you consider the most important?

Due to certain circumstances, from May 2023 I continued my studies and defended my defense at Kharkiv National Pedagogical University named after H.S. Frying pans I would like to point out that I am extremely grateful for the support of the doctor of philological sciences, professor, dean of the Ukrainian Language and Literature Faculty named after Hryhoriy Fedorovych Kvitka Osnov'yanenko Kostiantyn Yuriyovych Holoborodek and for the creation of favorable conditions, help at all stages of preparation for the defense of our dissertation.  

However, preparing for the defense for several months required endurance both mentally and physically. After receiving the algorithm of actions that must be performed in order to successfully defend, a kind of "marathon" began, step by step, because only the completed dissertation is not enough here. Therefore, it is important to ask questions that usually arise in a timely manner, listen carefully to the instructions and remember the "deadlines" for the implementation of this or that stage. However, the support of people who really wanted to help to overcome all possible difficulties became significant for me.

What questions or challenges surprised you the most during the defense?

My personal, more internal challenge during the defense turned out to be an additional concern that everyone was safe, that everything worked and that force majeure did not happen in the realities of today.

How did you feel during the defense? What emotions did you experience?

During the defense, the feelings and emotions were different, even opposite, from excitement to joy. Realizing how much effort has been previously put in, various stages have been passed and the final one remains the same, you tune in, gather your thoughts and understand that you just have to do everything you set out to do. But I would like to note that on that particular day and moment, thanks to the great, such sincere support of the specialized council and managers, it was easier for me to live this event than I imagined.

To whom do you owe the most? for your success?

I will not be able to single out one person in the answer to this question. This is a path that has been touched by a large number of people. But I am infinitely and deeply grateful to everyone, my family, the scientific supervisor, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor Volodymyr Andriyovych Hlushchenko, members of the specialized academic council, employees of the teams of Donbas State Pedagogical University and Kharkiv National University named after H.S. Skovorody, colleagues from the Horliv Institute of Foreign Languages for their invaluable and boundless support and help during preparation and defense. 

How do you feel as a new doctor of philosophy? What emotions prevail?

I can say that on the one hand, it gives an even greater sense of responsibility in work. On the other hand, the first time you cannot come to your senses and believe that everything has already happened. That is, after passing such an endurance test in various ways, you seem to reboot and open up to something new.

What qualities of a scientist impress you?

I like it when a scientist has an interest in his work and a sense of the new, as well as being proactive, punctual, responsible and friendly. 

Do you see future scientists among your students?

Despite the fact that I recently worked in the first year, I would like to note that literally after the first few months of studying at the institute, students begin to be actively interested in what scientific conferences and theses are, how and for what they can be done. In my opinion, the manifestation of such interest already speaks of positive dynamics in this matter. The main thing is to find the field where a person can transform his interest and maximally integrate it into scientific research.

What advice could you give to young people who strive for success and take their first steps in science?

To move forward towards your goal, to do research in a field that really interests you and gives you satisfaction. And if any difficulties arise, remember that this is natural, but everything will work out, it's just another path that wants to be walked by you. 

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Horliv Institute of Foreign Languages. That you wish the team of teachers and students of your native Alma Mater on this anniversary?

Sincerely and from the whole heart of Inazuz, I congratulate the entire esteemed staff and students on the 75th anniversary of the founding of our Alma Mater. I want to wish you many years of prosperity, continue to successfully train great professionals and give them to the whole world. I wish you strong knowledge, bold ideas, conquest of any heights and fulfillment of all dreams. May everyone here be inspired and purposeful, successful and talented. I wish everyone good health, good mood and all the best. The main thing is peace, love and harmony!