Voices of Resilience: Redefining Linguistic Identity in Ukraine

• In Event: Voices of Resilience: Reclaiming Language, Redefining Identity, and Re-imaging the Political Post-Soviet Landscape

Abstract

Ukrainians' ability to reclaim the rightful role of the Ukrainian language in shaping their national cultural landscape holds significant importance. The impact of colonial ideology on the language landscape was obscured by the imperial and later Soviet authorities, presenting it as a harmonious Russian-Ukrainian bilingualism. Concurrently, there were escalating processes of Russification, resulting in a decline in the prestige of the Ukrainian language and the reduction of its usage area. The paper will analyze shifts in linguistic identification among Ukrainians with a particular focus on their implications within the context of national development and liberation from post-imperial narratives in Ukraine.

Author

• Tetyana Lewińska, U of Warsaw (Poland)