Strangers among their own (III): Naming of displaced persons from Poland in the contemporary Ukrainian language

Abstract

The article deals with one of the linguistic aspects of the forced migration, precisely with naming in the contemporary Ukrainian language ethnic groups of Ukrainians displaced from Poland during the 1940s and 1950s. It investigates how the displaced groups and their descendants are referred to, analyzing the use of ethnonyms and how these reflect the dichotomy of “us” vs. “them.” Despite significant cultural revitalization in recent decades the research demonstrates lack of clear distinctions of them in the broader Ukrainian narrative. There are also the linguistic gaps in documenting the ethnonyms in dictionaries influenced by political circumstances. The research used sociolinguistic methods, including interviews conducted with individuals from regions with a high concentration of the displaced population.