Perceptions of the Ukrainian language amongst national minority representatives in Chernihiv

Svitlana Nemyrovska, PhD Candidate, the Ukrainian Language Department
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
2 Hryhorii Skovoroda St., Kyiv 04070, Ukraine

E-mail: s.nemyrovska@ukma.edu.ua
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1242-1446

Heading:Young Scholars Articles
Language: Ukrainian

Abstract: The article discusses the current state of the Ukrainian language in Chernihiv city from the perspective of national minority representatives. It is based on the 9 language biographies, collected via in-depth interviewing in summer-autumn, 2021, among the representatives of 6 minority communities: Russian, Chuvash, Jewish, Belarussian, Azerbaijani, and Polish. The research presents not only the respondents’ attitudes towards Ukrainian as a state language, but also its perception during soviet times and times of Ukrainian independence. Additionally, the study outlines issues arising from the coexistence of Ukrainian and minority languages in Chernihiv.

The results of this research demonstrate that the linguistic situation within the national minority representatives is rather bilingual than multilingual. Firstly, it implies that mainly Ukrainian and Russian languages coexist in Chernihiv citizens’ daily routine leaving heritage languages far behind or completely eliminating them from the linguistic landscape of the city. Secondly, Russian keeps dominating over Ukrainian in private sphere, especially in interpersonal communication. Although the process of de-russification in Chernihiv is moving forward, yet it is not expected to progress rapidly. Thirdly, based on the collected materials, the younger generations of the aforementioned ethnic groups are actively leaving Chernihiv while the senior generations ideologically and emotionally often maintain sentiments towards Russian language, culture, sometimes soviet past.

Obviously, from that perspective language situation of Chernihiv is not exclusively the domain of sociolinguistics. More importantly, it is the fight of different historical memories and prospects for the future, which is crucial for the borderland territories like Chernihiv.

Keywords: bilingualism, language situation, language attitude, code-switching, the Ukrainian language, national minority languages.

REFERENCES
All-Ukrainian Population Census. (2001). About Number and Composition Population of Chernihiv Region. Retrieved January 3, 2023 from http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/results/general/nationality/chernigiv/ (in Ukrainian).
Baker, C. (1992). Attitudes and Language. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Chernihiv Regional Military Administration. (n.d.). National and Cultural Societies of Cher nihiv Region. Retrieved January 3, 2023 from https://www.cg.gov.ua/index.php?id=13351&tp=1 (in Ukrainian).
International Republican Institute. (2015). Ukrainian Municipal Survey. Retrieved January 3, 2023 from https:// www.iri.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015-05-19_ukraine_national_municipal_survey_march_2-20_ 2015.pdf
International Republican Institute. (2020). Seventh Annual Ukrainian Municipal Survey. Retrieved January 3, 2023 from https://www.iri.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/seventh_municipal_ survey_may_2021_eng_-_v2.pdf
Law of Ukraine “On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine” (13.12.2022). Retrieved January 3, 2023 from https://zakon. rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2827-20#Text (in Ukrainian).
Law of Ukraine “On National Minorities in Ukraine” (12.12.2012). Retrieved January 3, 2023 from https://zakon. rada.gov.ua/ cgi-bin/laws/main.cgi?nreg=2494-12#Text (in Ukrainian).
Lepiavko, S. (2020). Chernihiv: the History of the City. Kyiv: Vydavnytstvo “Klio” (in Ukrainian).
Masenko, L. (2010). Essays on Sociolinguistics. Kyiv: Vydavnychyi dim “Kyievo-Mohylianska akademiia” (in Ukrainian).
Masenko, L. (2020). The Conflict of Languages and Identities in Post-soviet Ukraine. Kyiv: Vydavnytstvo “Klio” (in Ukrainian).
Nekvapil, Jiří. (2003). Language biographies and the analysis of language situations: On the life of the German community in the Czech Republic. International Journal of The Sociology of Language, 63—83. tps://www.degruyter. com/document/doi/10.1515/ijsl.2003.038.
Romantsov, V. (2008). Ukrainian Population and Its Mother Tongue During the Soviet Times and After Gaining Independence (20th — early 21st centuries). Kyiv: Vyd-vo im. Oleny Telihy (in Ukrainian).
Sociological group “Rating”. (2022). The sixth nationwide survey: the language issue in Ukraine. Retrieved January 3, 2023 from https://ratinggroup.ua/research/ukraine/language_issue_in_ukraine_march_19th_2022.html (in Ukrainian).
Sokolova, S. (2021). Ukrainian-Russian Bilingualism in Ukraine: Inside and Outside Perception. Ukrainian language, 3(79), 30—53. doi.org/10.15407/ukrmova2021.03.030 (in Ukrainian).