GENDER DIFFERENCE IN LANGUAGE USE AND LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN ONLINE FACEBOOK POSTS OF UKRAINIAN MIGRANTS IN GERMANY

Anastasiia Kuznietsova

doi:10.20535/2617-5339.2021.8.243868

Abstract

This article studies the gender difference in language use and language attitudes of Ukrainian communities in Germany in online social media. Since 2014, the conflict in the East of Ukraine has led to a remarkably intense flow of Ukrainian migrants to Western Europe giving rise to longstanding issues of identity formation, language use, and attitudes both within Ukraine and inside Ukrainian diaspora communities. This article will examine the Ukrainian diaspora in Germany on the subject of language ideologies, language use, and attitudes by analyzing its linguistic online activity. To do so, our analysis will draw on a range of interdisciplinary methodologies, including studies of linguistic identity positioning, gender in migration, imagined migrant communities, and studies of discursive constructions of nationhood, which explore language indexing in relation to national identity.

Highlights

This paper investigates gender differences in language use and language attitudes of Ukrainian migrants in Germany using data from Facebook posts
How do Ukrainian migrant groups residing in Germany use language(s) via social media platforms and what are their language attitudes (e. g., towards Ukrainian, Russian, or the language of the host country)?
As mentioned above, one of this article central concern is the influence of gender as a social factor which impacts on linguistic behavior

Summary

Introduction

This paper investigates gender differences in language use and language attitudes of Ukrainian migrants in Germany using data from Facebook posts. By means of a qualitative approach, Ukrainian immigrants’ online activity analyzed to show whether Ukrainian national gender norms are challenged or reinforced by distance from the homeland and weather these factors influence on language use and attitudes in a transnational context. The choice of a qualitative research paradigm for this study allows for more in-depth, nuanced exploration of language use, language attitudes and is in keeping with other research in the field of migration studies and the role of gender in migration..

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