Language Policy In Ukraine Research Articles

Мовна політика Рейхскомісаріату Україна

The article deals with some issues of language policy in the Reichskommissariat of Ukraine (1941-1944) in the context of competition between different concepts of the Third Reich leadership in relation to the occupied eastern territories. In this regard, along with the problem of attitude of the new authorities to the Ukrainian language, the issue of introduction of Latin script in Ukraine and teaching German to the local population is raised. The language policy implemented in the Reichskommissariat for the first time is the result of an internal struggle between the main forces of the occupation administration: the Ministry of the Eastern Occupied Territories, the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, the Wehrmacht (in its area of responsibility in Ukraine) and branches of the industrial and transport structures of the Reich working in Ukraine. The legislative basis of the language policy in Ukraine was never officially approved until the end of the occupation, so the main source of information about the language regulation was the letter of the Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories dated January 13, 1942 about the foundations of the language policy, which in its basic provisions supported the trend towards gradual Ukrainianization of the population (excluding Ukrainian Germans). The most noticeable correction of the language policy took place in the sphere of teaching German to the local population. The needs of the military industry forced economic structures to lobby for the elimination of the ban on teaching German to Ukrainians, which in turn was reinforced by the general policy line of the Ministry for the Eastern occupied territories to involve the Ukrainian people in the fight against Bolshevism.

Реалізація мовної політики в Україні на законодавчому рівні: наслідки та перспективи

The relevance of studying the features of language policy implementation in Ukraine at the legislative level is based on the increasing understanding of Ukrainian language importance as an integral component of ensuring a nation’s identity and unity of the people as well as supporting for statehood. The main objective of the article is to study the implications and prospects for implementation of the language policy in Ukraine, taking into account the latest legislative innovations. The methodological framework provides for the use of methods of analysis, synthesis and a systematic approach for a comprehensive consideration of the processes of implementation of national language policy at the legislative level. To study the changes in the legislative regulation of language policy during the period of independence of Ukraine, the methods of study of documents and retrospective analysis were applied. The attitude of scientists to the situation of bilingualism has been also studied using the methods of comparison and generalization. As a result of the research, it was revealed that formation of a clear language policy is an essential condition for promoting the cohesion of a multi-ethnic Ukrainian society, inasmuch as the existing situation of bilingualism leads to a disunity of the nation. Although the Ukrainian language is defined by the state at the constitutional level, however, its introduction into all spheres of public life until 2014 was quite slow, especially in the eastern and southern regions. Since 2010, the language policy was actually aimed at reducing the use of the Ukrainian language and the dominance of Russian in the information and cultural space of Ukraine. Since 2012, Ukraine had a law that provided for legitimization of “regional languages” in certain areas (it was declared as unconstitutional one in February 2018). The prospect of implementation of language policy at the legislative level is adoption of the Law “On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language” (passed the first reading on October 4, 2018), which defines the Ukrainian language as the only state language, establishing the requirements for fluency in the Ukrainian language and its use in the work of state authorities and public areas.

Establishment of state language institute in Ukraine

The article deals with the peculiarities of becoming a constitutional-legal institute of the state language in Ukraine. The main part of the research is devoted to the analysis of the laws of origin of the considered institute, the prerequisites of the modern stage of its development, and therefore the generalization of the factors that led to the establishment and final consolidation at the legislative level of the status of the state language in the context of creating the national language of the people of Ukraine, the establishment of the Ukrainian political nation. Within the framework of this article, considerable attention is given to the characterization of the stages of the genesis of the institute of the state language, starting from the 9th to the beginning of the twentieth centuries. The author of the article emphasizes the conditions that contributed to the formation of regulations in the field of language policy in Ukraine. The subject of the study is the legal monuments of Ukraine, the legislation in force in the territory of Ukraine during the period under review, which regulated the language relations and, consequently, the approval of the state language as a legal institute. Critical analysis of the normative mechanisms of functioning of the Institute of the State Language was carried out. It is suggested to take into account certain features of the legal system, characteristic of a specific historical period of development of Ukraine. This approach, in the author’s opinion, is expedient, since it provides an opportunity to distinguish the main stages of becoming a state language as an institution of constitutional law and to understand the mechanism of constitutional and legal regulation of linguistic relations. At the same time, a chronological division of the process of formation of the state language institute into periods according to belonging to the stages of its formation was made. The regularity of the relevant division is determined, which defines the purpose of this study, and therefore, the legal characterization of the selected periods and stages of formation of the Ukrainian language, the search for regularities in their correlation. Keywords: constitutional-legal institute, state language, Ukrainian language, periods of formation of state language institute.

Military legislation and language policy in Ukraine as they are

Military legislation and language policy in Ukraine as they are

Мовна політика України у 2017 – 2019 роках

Мовна політика України у 2017 – 2019 роках

Language Policy of Ukraine as a Source of Ethno-Political Destabilization

The article is devoted to the study of the influence of the language policy on political stability in Ukraine. The article examines the current provisions of the Ukrainian legislation related to the development of language policy, as well as the provisions of the latest draft laws on the status of languages in Ukraine. The authors have analyzed recent trends in the development of language policy, which are a source of destabilization in modern Ukraine.The problem of ethno-political stability becomes one of the key problems for the modern Ukrainian state. This issue was on a par with socio-economic issues and foreign policy interaction. Its scientific analysis is necessary to determine the impact of the state language policy implemented in Ukraine on the development of all regions of the country, which have significant differences in their national composition, history and traditions. In this context, the study of this issue has not only theoretical but also practical importance.One of the draft laws regulating the language sphere assumes that foreign citizens who intend to obtain Ukrainian citizenship will have to take exams in the Ukrainian language. The required level of proficiency will be determined by the national Commission on the standards of the Ukrainian language. It will be created if the bill is passed by Parliament. This Commission will be entrusted with the task of determining the necessary level of proficiency in the state language for the persons willing to occupy certain positions.The bill provides for the introduction of mandatory use of the state Ukrainian language by various authorities. It provides for the use of the Ukrainian language not only for documentation, but also for pre-election campaigns carried out at the expense of the state budget. The main trends that occur in the language sphere of Ukraine prove that they are part of the processes that occur in all the former republics of the USSR. They include the revival of interest in the national language and national culture, the desire to expand the social functions of the national language in different spheres of communication in each of the newly independent states and constitute a part of the process of statehood assertion.

Комунікативна модель мовної політики Молдови.

The article analyzes the communicative model of the language policy of Moldova as such, which, when implemented by its central authority of this state and by separate political forces, resembles that linguistic policy conducted in Ukraine during all years of independence. It is proved that in the language policy of Moldova, as well as in the language policy of Ukraine, all the years of independence are actively interfered by Russia, using for this purpose the internal pro-Russian-minded political forces of the state. It was established that the basis of political confrontations that arose in Moldova was the language-political problem, which divided the Moldovan community into at least three groups – Russian-speaking, Ukrainianlanguage, and Moldovan. It is substantiated that pro-Romanian and pro-Russian political ambitions on the territory of Moldova formed the basis of Romanian and Russian separatisms, each of which saw this state within its own political influence. It is proved that the linguistic-political confrontation on the territory of Moldova turned into a frozen conflict, the separatist center of which was Transnistria. On the other hand, the author draws attention to the fact that the communicative model of the language policy of Moldova is closely linked with Romania. It develops in the context of two opposing socio-political tendencies: one of them is the "Moldovans" who advocate the revival of the national language, culture and traditions, the other – "Romanians" – the Moldovan ethnos of Romanian origin, whose efforts are aimed at the revival of Greater Romania and joining this state of Moldova. In this context, the same analogy is observed in Ukraine, which has evolved since the mid-1990s in the context of two opposing socio-political tendencies: one of them is pro-Russian political forces that stand for the status quo for the Russian language and culture, the other is the national democrats, whose efforts are aimed at preserving the Ukrainian language and its dissemination in all spheres and regions of the state.

Мовна політика України:ретроспективний огляд за часи незалежності держави

Мовна політика України:ретроспективний огляд за часи незалежності держави

The symbolic role of the language policy in Ukraine: between symbolic violence and liberalism

The symbolic role of the language policy in Ukraine: between symbolic violence and liberalism

The acceleration of the Ukrainians’ assimilation due to deliberate narrowing of the Ukrainian language: 60’s-70’s of the XXth century

This article investigates anti-Ukrainian language policy in Ukraine during the 60’s – 70’s of the twentieth century, whose main objective was artificial exclusion of the use of the Ukrainian language and the acceleration of the Ukrainians’ assimilation. Narrowing the Ukrainian language in higher educational institutions of Ukraine was felt especially painfully, where the younger generation of the Ukrainians was trained and brought up. Teaching most special and general subjects in higher education resorted to Russian more and more frequently. Those features of Ukrainian higher education showed the wealth of the national language, culture, facilitated the study of their national history, promoted a national idea, the ideas of Ukrainian statehood were leveled under the influence of the Russification policy. Also, the paper examines the denationalization of the titular nation – the Ukrainian SSR by the media, which were a part of the informational space of the Soviet totalitarian state. The article reveals the destructive role of the media in narrowing the Ukrainian national outlook and “undermining” their social and psychological stability, showing a ban on national-patriotic materials in the Ukrainian printed word, radio, television. Russification of all spheres of the Ukrainian people significantly reduced the use of the Ukrainian language and formed the status of its inferiority and laid the basis for all intensive large-scale assimilation of the Ukrainians.

Rosyjskojęzyczny patriotyzm ukraiński. O zmianie funkcji języka rosyjskiego na Ukrainie pod wpływem Euromajdanu i wojny w Donbasie

This article analyzes the phenomenon of Ukrainian Russian-language patriotism. In the first part, the author concentrates on the socio-linguistic situation in Ukraine since 1991. The next part contains a brief description of language policy in Ukraine in the 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century, and presents the attitude of contemporary Ukrainian society to the Russian language. The main part of the text presents the changes in perception of the Russian language that have occurred in Ukraine as a consequence of the anti-regime protests at the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014 and then Russia’s violation of the country’s territorial integrity. The author predicts that the Russian language will not only continue to be widely represented in the Ukrainian public sphere, but will also form part of Ukraine’s cultural heritage. At the same time, she suggests that it is likely that the Russian language in Ukraine will become an object for expressions of resentment, contempt, or even hatred toward Russia.

Language policy of Ukraine and Canada: comparative analysis

The article is dedicated to the scientific study of the conceptual foundations of the state policy in Ukraine in the modern state formation. Specifies the concepts and categories of essential characteristics of the concepts of language Analyzed the domestic and international experience of establishing and developing the legal and institutional components of policy. The main factors influencing the development of linguistic relations in modern Ukraine, including political and regional.

Language Policy in Ukraine

This article seeks to shed more light on Ukraine’s language problem by specifying popular views of policies the state should pursue in the language domain. Aiming at the delineation of possible ways to reconcile the preferences of main ethnolinguistic and regional groups, it analyzes their views of the valid and desirable legislative and institutional arrangements. The data come from a nationwide representative mass survey and twenty focus groups in different parts of Ukraine. The analysis shows that Ukrainian-speakers would like to see their language dominant in all domains but are ready to put up with the widespread use of Russian, provided that their own right to use Ukrainian is not questioned and the titular language retains the priority status and exclusive role in some symbolically important practices. In contrast, Russian-speakers prefer an upgrade of the status of Russian, which they present as a way to ensure the equality of speakers of the two languages but most of them actually want official bilingualism to let them remain unilingual in their capacities both as citizens and as employees. The best solution would be to adopt compromise legislation providing for a limited upgrade of the status of Russian and then facilitate its observance by both bureaucrats and citizens. However, the new language law adopted under President Yanukovych was widely perceived as endangering the use of Ukrainian and thus contributed to confrontation rather than compromise.

Language Policy in Ukraine: International Standards and Obligation, and Ukrainian Law and Legislation

Language policy in Ukraine has a political and historical context of unique complexity, even when compared with other post-colonial linguistic puzzles, for example those in Ireland, Spain or Turkey. As Kulyk points out, the Soviet past is “… the only past common to all Ukrainian regions, because it was only in the 1940s that they found themselves in one polity after many centuries of divided existence.” This Report does not seek to analyse the often heated politics of post-Soviet Ukraine, which I have explored over the years in relation to a number of issues, and which are analysed in this volume. It is of course essential to consider law in its social and political context. What follows is an attempt to analyse and evaluate existing and proposed law and practice, and to make recommendations.

Beliefs about language status and corpus in focus group discussions on the Ukrainian language policy

This paper examines the relationship between popular beliefs about language status and corpus, as manifested in focus group discussions on language policy in Ukraine. The main finding pertains to the unequal attention to and evaluation of the quality of the two languages predominantly used in Ukrainian society. While the increased presence of Ukrainian in some language practices where Russian dominated in the Soviet and early post-Soviet years is often scrutinized and criticized, largely because of its supposedly low quality, the continued use of Russian usually remains unnoticed. This remarkable asymmetry is characteristic even of many Ukrainian-speakers who support the prevalence of their language but have internalized some implicit beliefs regarding its inferiority vis-a-vis Russian. This relationship appears to be an important mechanism of reproducing the dominant position of Russian as attempts at elevating the status of Ukrainian are hindered by the widespread perception of its corpus inadequacy for those roles it has not played hitherto.

Post-Soviet Language Policy and the Language Utilization Patterns of Kyivan Youth

This empirically based study examines the impact of language policy in Ukraine on language utilization patterns of school pupils in Kyiv. Following the establishment of Ukrainian as the state language in 1989, the government of Ukraines ought to re-shape language use from an essentially Russian language society to primarily Ukrainian. In addition to Ukrainian-only language policies within the government and commercial spheres, government efforts focused on the educational system, requiring Ukrainian language study for all students. Using quantitative data from student responses to a questionnaire focusing on subject background, native and home language, including reported usage of interactive and interpretive language, this research examines the extent to which language shift or maintenance occurs in students' language use within and across specified contexts. While it is still too early to speak of full-fledged language shift, there is already an indication that the rapid Russification process has slowed, if not ceased.