Language Dynamics in Transition: Case Studies from Ukraine, North America, and Estonia

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

The panel explores language politics and identity formation in diverse contexts. It begins by examining activists in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, as they navigate the shift from the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic to an independent Ukraine, with a focus on the implications of Ukrainian becoming the sole state language. The discussion then shifts to the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States after the 2022 Russian invasion, revealing complex Ukrainian-Russian identities amidst disrupted Russification. Following this, the panel investigates language policies within mixed Estonian-Russian families in Estonia, highlighting challenges in language transmission and cultural identity formation amidst intermarriage and geopolitical tensions. Additionally, the fourth paper examines the impact of transitioning to Estonian language instruction in schools on language use, identity, belonging, and values in Estonia, utilizing qualitative interviews and a multi-wave survey of parents and students.

Sub Unit

• Linguistics/Language Pedagogy/Translation

Chair

• Anastassia Zabrodskaja, Tallinn U (Estonia)

Papers

• Ukrainian Revival or Imposition: Language Politics in Transition-Era Dnipropetrovsk, 1989-1997 - Shawn Conroy, Ohio State U

• Language Use among Immigrants and Refugees from Ukraine in North America - Svitlana V. Malykhina, Defense Language Institute

• Navigating Language and Identity: A Study of Mixed Estonian-Russian Families in Estonia - Anastassia Zabrodskaja, Tallinn U (Estonia)

• Identity in Transition: Effects of a National Language Education Policy in Estonia - Laura Howells, Princeton U

Discussants

• Curt Woolhiser, Boston College

• Ashley McDermott, U of Michigan