Keywords
language biography
language policy
communicative strategy
multilingualism
identity
decolonization
linguistic marker
How to Cite
Abstract
Contemporary linguistic science actively employs the method of language biography. This method occupies a central position in glottodidactics, studies of multilingualism, dialectology, migration research, etc. In the article, the method of language biography is applied within the framework of colonial studies. The research aims to construct Lesia Ukrainka’s language biography by analyzing her autobiographical materials, correspondence, and family recollections. It takes into account the historical, cultural, and political context of the setting in which she was born, lived, and created her works. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of her family in shaping her linguistic identity. For the first time, Lesia Ukrainka’s language biography has been constructed. It demonstrates a rejection of the imperial language strategy, where the empire's language dominates as the sole option. Instead, it reveals a reverse dynamic, with the language of the colonized becoming central and the colonizer's language reduced to one among many in a multilingual world. Overall, Lesia Ukrainka’s language biography transcends the colonial linguistic matrix, serves as a foundation for communicative strategies that embrace multiple languages, and positions the Ukrainian language as a linguistic marker of decolonization.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Orysia Demska, Lesia Demska-Budzuliak, Larysa Holichenko
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