[lg policy] Belarus: Old challenges – new paradox

Tue Dec 23 19:08:30 UTC 2014

Belarus: Old challenges – new paradox
 Bo Harald Tillberg <http://baltic-review.com/author/bo-harald-illberg/>

 22/12/2014

 Belarus <http://baltic-review.com/category/belarus/>

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[image: The text with the picture reads in Belarusian: My first word in my
native language – love Belarus Belarus: Old challenges - new paradox
Belarus mova]

The text with the picture reads in Belarusian: My first word in my native
language – love
Anyone wandering around the Belarusian capital of Minsk this autumn will
soon notice the large posters featuring a happy, smiling young girl. This
is not an advertisement

The text with the picture reads in Belarusian: My first word in my native
language – love.

And there is also a question aimed at the viewer: What will be your first
word in your native language?

The posters are part of a government campaign to promote the nation’s
titular language, Belarusian.

This message is initially confusing, as it seems to imply that the
population is only now going to start speaking its native language.

However, in the Belarusian context, “native language” does not normally
refer to the first language spoken by a particular individual, but instead
to the official language of the nation in which they grew up.

The native language mentioned in the campaign is thus not the language the
audience actually learned during early childhood, but the language they are
assumed to identify with.

Interest in learning and using the Belarusian language is increasing.
Several civic initiatives are offering free language courses.

Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that the Belarusian President,
Alexander Lukashenka, has spoken in Belarusian at several public events in
recent times, and has emphasized the importance of the language for the
nation.

This is a significant change in a president who had previously refrained
from speaking Belarusian in public and had also spoken disparagingly of the
language.

After Lukashenka came to power 20 years ago, and in the wake of the
referendum on language that followed, Belarus has had two official
languages. Of these, Russian has been dominant. Those who consistently
prefer to speak Belarusian have encountered major practical difficulties.

In censuses, the majority of the population has indicated Belarusian as
their native language, but sociological studies show that only a quarter of
the population actually speaks the language, and only a few per cent use it
on a daily basis.

But even though the language is not used to a great extent, it is present
in other ways. It has a prominent role in public events with an emphasis on
Belarusian culture or when the intention is to express loyalty to the
Belarusian nation.

Most political parties – and even the Francišak Skaryna Belarusian Language
Society – have abandoned the demand for Belarusian to be the only official
language.

There is now an understanding that an altered linguistic situation requires
both patience and an understanding of the needs of the population.

However, efforts to promote the use of Belarusian must above all be seen in
the context of the need to strengthen the national identity.

This process involves finding symbols of national identity regarding which
there is a broad consensus and which can be effective boundary markers
against more powerful neighbors.

The regional crisis and the perceived threat to the republic’s very
existence have reinforced these efforts.

So is this new found linguistic interest demonstrated by the President and
the political elite just opportunistic?

And how has this interest been received by those who have long fought for a
stronger national identity?

Many feel that this is too little, too late.

The role of language as an indicator of a position of opposition also makes
it difficult for many to unite with the President on the issue. However,
there is criticism of this attitude.
[image: Minsk in Winter Belarus Belarus: Old challenges - new paradox Minsk]
<http://i1.wp.com/baltic-review.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Minsk.jpg>

Minsk in Winter

One example is the political analyst Artiom Shraibman, who recently argued
in an article on tut.by, the leading Belarusian internet news portal, that
it is not only an opportunity to exploit the regime’s interest in what the
opposition has been striving to achieve for 20 years, but also a necessity.

The Ukraine has been at its most unstable in regions where Russian speakers
are in the majority.

To that extent, says Shraibman, the whole of Belarus is exposed, and the
government’s change in attitude should be exploited, regardless of whether
this is primarily driven by self-interest.

For the political opposition, the language has long been a component in a
political vision intended to constitute an alternative to the policies
carried out by the current government.

Quite unexpectedly, this component now appears to have become part of the
current regime’s survival strategy.

The situation is thus both complex and, in some respects, hopeful.

Opportunities to promote the Belarusian language – both as a means of
communication and as an element in a clearer national identity – seem to be
greater than they have been at any time since the early 1990s.

However, with the forthcoming presidential election and the likely
continued uncertainty in terms of the economy and regional security issues,
priorities may quickly change.

It therefore remains to be seen whether the increased interest by the
population in the language becomes permanent and whether the President’s
promises regarding an altered language policy will actually become reality.

http://baltic-review.com/2014/12/belarus-old-challenges-new-paradox/

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