Standard-Setting Role of Prosta Mova in the 18th Century

The source of research within the framework of the article are texts of a religious and secular character, printed in prosta mova by the Basilians printing houses. The characterization of phonetic and morphological features appearing in the texts published in Pochayiv and Univ throughout the 18th century, enables the formulation of conclusions on the functioning of the literary language in the area of present-day Ukraine in the 18th century. The literary tradition of prosta mova speech in the 18th century does not expire and evolves in the direction of the modern Ukrainian language. The language of printed texts, regardless of their affiliation with the religious or secular literature, is becoming more and more characteristic of spoken language. The thesis about the evolution of the development of the Ukrainian language does not contradict the dialectal substrate factor that lay at the foundations of the modern literary language. This is not a denial of tradition, but it shows the universal tendency of the language development.