Linguae Europaeae

by Megan Carpenter Megan Carpenter is a Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies M.A. student at The University of Illinois. Her research interests are Soviet history and post-Soviet Russian politics. When she graduates, she hopes to work for the federal government. She wrote this blog post in FR418 ‘Language and Minorities in Europe’ in spring 2019.  For centuries, Russian writers, politicians, philosophers, and rulers have struggled with the question of Russia’s European-ness. Is Russia European? Should western culture be allowed to influence Russians and Russian culture? Given the current political climate, the issue of Russia versus the West is an incredibly relevant topic that has a long, complicated story, and is arguably at the center of Russian history. The extent and limitations of European influences are readily apparent in the history of the Russian language. Figure  1  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/attachments/images...

by Nicole Brozyna Nicole Brozyna is a senior in Psychology and Slavic-Polish Studies at the University of Illinois.  Nicole's future plans include entering the mental health workforce and applying to medical school.  She wrote this blog post in 418 'Language and Minorities in Europe' in Spring 2019. Image Credit: Edo Leitner, via Wikimedia Commons . Image is in the Public Domain. For centuries, Poland has experienced dramatic shifts regarding its borders and political climates. However, despite its history of inner turmoil and pressure from multiple rulers and aggressors, Poland has always been able to cling to its culture, traditions, and language. Moreover, as a result of all of these shifts, the country that has been multi-ethnic throughout its history ended up a variety of now relatively small ethnic minorities in several regions within the state. The Łemko people are one of these ethnic minority groups that still inhabit Poland today, along with the Crimean K...