Issues of inclusion through language in the construction of national identity in situations of international conflict (“Russian-Ukrainian conflict”) (2023-)

The research focuses on questions relating to the use of the Ukrainian language in the lives of Ukrainians after the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As highlighted by Zerva (2021), languages, seen as identity symbols, play a significant role in establishing boundaries between individuals and groups. Indeed, individuals and groups delineate, circumscribe, and classify languages based on their identity affiliations. This process becomes a means of constructing identity and shaping otherness. The way one positions oneself regarding their mastery of a language becomes a tool for the subject to construct and negotiate their identity as well as their relationship to the Other and to the world. Thus, the aim is to understand how the usage of Ukrainian and Russian languages acts as factors of inclusion or segregation in the construction of Ukrainian national identity during the period of conflict.

Project Manager: Maria Zerva (GEO/FRLC)