Missing Chain? Challenges for the Contemporary Study of 18th Century Belarusian Language and Culture

Abstract

Abstract The dominant axiom of Belarusian historical linguistics holds that the Belarusian literary language was created in the 19th century. According to this perspective, the contemporary Belarusian literary language is a new entity, separate from the old writing tradition. Its supporters therefore sanction the thesis that this writing tradition was broken, despite recent research proving the continuity of the Belarusian language. The present analysis shows that the reproduction of cliches about ‘the breaking of the tradition’ in textbooks used for teaching Belarusian language cause significant cognitive dissonance. Modern conscious Belarusians are building their identity based on the tradition of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, feeling themselves its heirs. The building of a modern identity should, however, incorporate references to language which is an important component of it. The analyzed textbooks contradict this by maintaining that the Belarusian literary language has its roots in the 19th century.