Linguae Europaeae

Poster  image from the Ukrainian Taras Sevchenko association, pointing out the risks with using Surzhyk. В.Радчук, В.Білецький ( Source) by Camille Dolce Camille Dolce is a rising junior majoring in Political Science and Statistics and minoring in Russian at the University of Illinois. Camille’s future plans include pursuing graduate studies in Political Science. She wrote this blog post for 418 “Languages and Minorities in Europe” in Spring 2023. Ukraine has come to have a complex history regarding language use in the country. Due to the long standing history of conflict with Russia, the debate over the use of Russian in the country has been a complicated one. This discourse extends to the use of Surzhyk, the term for mixed language composing of Ukrainian and Russian vocabulary and grammar. There are no strict defining rules for what the language looks like, and a lot of times it refers to dialects that differ on the individual level, with the only unifying trait being that it is...

Kharkiv National Medical University. Source: Sayf Oluwatoki by Ganiyat Alli Ganiyat Alli is a second-year doctoral student in History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ganiyat focuses on Islam in southwestern Nigeria with a subfield in European and gender studies. Her research examines the historical interactions and influences between Islam and local cultures in the region, while also exploring the intersections of European colonialism, gender dynamics, and Islamic practices. She wrote this blog post for 418 “Languages and Minorities in Europe” in Spring 2023. INTRODUCTION One way to win people’s confidence is to be able to communicate with them in their language. They readily warm up to you and treat you as one of their own. The experiences of African International Students in Ukraine lend credence to this assertion. Globalization has gradually changed the world; making the world a hub for various migrations, especially for educational purposes, and compelling stu...

by Eastman Klepper Eastman Klepper is a graduate student in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Eastman will start working for the government after graduation and is interested in the Russian language and culture and the current use and future development of the conventional ground forces of the Russian Federation. He wrote this text as a student enrolled in 418 ‘Language and Minorities in Europe.’ Figure 1 Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltics ( Image Source ) The Russian annexation of Crimea and the Russian-supported separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine have has become a major focus for the Baltic countries of Latvia and Estonia.  Due to their NATO membership, and active support “of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other countries that have resisted Russia’s pressures” (Bugajski),  these two countries have become a prime focus of Russian activities to gain the support of the Russian-speaking minorities...