Laura Orazi, Ph.D., Adjunct/Contract Lecturer in the Department of Humanities, University of Macerata
2 Corso Cavour, Palazzo Ugolini, Macerata 62100, Italy
E-mail: l.orazi5@unimc.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8752-7598
Abstract: This article is an attempt to offer a survey of the language policy adopted in Soviet Ukraine in
the 1920s and in contemporary Ukraine after 1991 highlighting the crucial notion of language as a national treasure for Ukrainian identity. First of all, the Romantic or German model of ‘nation’ is discussed. The paper also deals with the main premises, choices, and outcomes of the ‘Ukraini zation’ language policy of the 1920s: although the Bolsheviks considered language as a mere tool, noteworthy results were achieved in education, print media, and, to a lesser extent, among the officials. After 1991, Ukrainian language policy faced the complexity of a formal definition of the status of the Ukrainian and Russian languages, as well as a need for the reaffirmation of the state language (Ukrainian) in the spheres previously dominated by the
Russian language. The 2012 lan guage law represented a new form of Russification, whereas the 2019 language law focused more on the needs of the Ukrainian society, and promoted a new ‘Ukrainization’ in the spheres of public administration, media, and science.
Keywords: language policy, Ukraine, 1920s, independence, identity
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