The Effects of Identity, Language Use, Language Ideology. and their Level of Congruency on Language Policy Preferences and Reaction to Policy Outcomes in Ukraine

Abstract

Language use, ideology, and policy are recurring themes in the development of national identity. They are emergent in so far as they pre-date the notion of the nation, and yet artificial in standardization and promulgation. Languages exist beyond the realm of communication as they are imbued with principles and ideologies as markers of identity. Ukraine is one such case in the nationalizing state paradigm. In managing Ukraine’s language situation, the Ukrainian government’s policy since the Orange revolution generally reflects the ideals of monolingualism in favor of the Ukrainian language rather than the de-facto bilingualism of the population’s language use and policy preferences. In my research, I extend the analysis into the post-Orange revolution era starting from 2003 to the beginning of the post-Euromaidan era in 2015. Not only will I mark changes in preferences with respect to policy, but I will also introduce a new model for analyzing preferences through “ethnolinguistic incongruency” – the relationship between ethnic or national identity and real language use. Within a regional model of Ukraine, my research will show the impact of this unique group in the switching of preferences from bilingual policy to monolingual policy.