It is as difficult to imagine a nation without its own common language as it is to imagine it without a people. However, I am not talking about language as a universal sign of the uniqueness of a nation. Indeed, several peoples can speak the same language, but also in the same country there can be several variations of the same language - dialects. There are examples of countries in which a significant part of the population does not speak the national language. For example, Pakistan, where the national language is Urdu, which is spoken by only 7% of the population. The Swiss, on the other hand, use four languages at once: German, French, Italian and Romansh.
As for the Republic of Belarus, in accordance with the Constitution the state languages are Belarusian and Russian, moreover, the national language for Belarusians is still traditionally Belarusian, and speaks it well if a quarter of all Belarusians ...
WITH the problem of bilingualism all residents of the Republic of Belarus are fighting, only some with the fact that he is forced to learn, others - that its value as the national language of Belarus is decreasing. Now our native language “lives” in school classrooms of the Belarusian language, in the lecture halls of philological departments, sometimes on the stage of the theater ... On the street, however, you can only occasionally hear “bulba” instead of potatoes, “dzakuy” instead of thank you, “kind Zen” instead of Russian greetings. I respect people who openly speak the Belarusian language, not being ashamed of it, not thinking about what others will think. Unfortunately, I know very few of them, but they are really bright personalities, and this is not only related to the language they speak.
Language is only a means of expressing their character, behavior, only such people dare to call the White Russian language their native language and their national language. The national language must be spoken from all sides, and hearing it, people should not turn around in surprise, and often the reaction is not the most positive.
But in vain ... I would compare a person who speaks Belarusian with a foreigner who does not know Russian and who has arrived in Belarus or Russia. When we see a foreigner, we will never be surprised that he speaks English, for example. Why, then, is it a wonder for us to see a Belarusian speaking Belarusian? One feels a kind of nonsense. The Pole speaks Polish, the German speaks German, the Russian speaks Russian, and the Belarusian, as usual, distinguished himself! “Speak Belarusian? What for?.."
Today the state encourages the preservation of the Russian language as the main one. On the one hand, this makes it possible to establish relations with neighboring countries, since Russian is one of the interethnic languages, to strengthen relations with Russia. But on the other hand, helping to develop the Russian language, we further aggravate the ethnic position of Belarusians among other peoples. We "kill" our culture for the sake of familiarizing with the traditions of other countries, no matter how awful it sounds. In the history of Belarus there was a period of both polonization and russification - they did not allow Belarusians to freely use the Belarusian language when they themselves wanted it. Now, when we have freedom of speech and language, we do not speak the language for which our ancestors fought for centuries - we recognize ourselves as a Russian-speaking nation, not noticing the beauty of the Belarusian language. And it's not about beauty ... The main part of our people are those born in the USSR. They are adherents of the Russian language. But it seems that young people who have not had time to experience either Brezhnev or Gorbachev are already able to choose their own language, there are conditions for this, but the majority, trying to join the “gray mass”, remain Russian-speaking Belarusians. Psychologists call this the herd feeling, although I would paraphrase it as an incurable “herd syndrome”: following others in language, people will become like others in other things as well. And even the minority that chooses the Belarusian language for everyday communication does not proceed from patriotic feelings. There is more desire to "show off", to show oneself as opposed to the main Russian-speaking "herd". So, and don't patriots exist? This question is extremely controversial. The only thing that is certain is that it is not for me to give the answer, and it is not for me to judge the others either. But I think, I am even sure that there are such people. There are only a few of them, but they are amazing. Most of those I know are people of mature age, but of modern views. These are not young people who are trying to find a way to stand out (there are, of course, exceptions too), this is highly educated people with their own life position... They immediately evoke respect and trust, and most of all - admiration. All Belarusians should look up to such people. 
Yes, we are Belarusians, yes, we have a territory, culture, traditions and all the same language, but we do not use it. Language is the most important thing that should unite Belarusians. How do we recognize a Pole? He speaks Polish. How about a Belarusian? Just take our word for it. Language is the main condition of national identity... It turns out that this concept is not peculiar to Belarusians. No matter how loud words the speakers throw, no matter how they praise our culture, the national language is the beginning of the formation of a nation. It is as important as a source for a river or a front door for a house. Of course, you can try to get in through the window, but will this be a house?
Whether someone likes it or not, the facts are a stubborn thing - the overwhelming majority of Belarusians speak Russian. This was confirmed by the republican census conducted in 2009. 60% of the inhabitants of the country called the Belarusian language their native language. But only 23% of the population use it as a spoken word, in whole or in part. In Minsk, these indicators look even tougher - 35% and 6%, respectively.
And here is how ordinary Belarusians answered the question about their native language:
A quite natural question arises: Why do Belarusians in a country called Belarus speak Russian, and not Belarusian? What is the reason for this? Is this good or bad? Do Belarusians themselves need the Belarusian language?
And these questions are far from idle and not divorced from life, because the well-known linguist Vladimir Ivanovich Dal, who lived in the 19th century, noted:
"... The verbal speech of a man is a visible, tangible connection, an allied link between body and spirit: without words, no conscious thought ..."
In addition, the answers to these questions depend on whether we can unite into a single community called the "Belarusian nation", or we will remain a kind of conglomerate of people who do not understand who they are.
Different answers to the same question
Version number 1: do not speak because the Belarusian language is oppressed by Russian
The topic of the destruction of the Belarusian language to “racial imperialisms”, “practical masks” is the most popular among nationally “friendly” citizens:
Pavel Stsyatsko, the doctrine of the philalagic nauk:
“At the balshavian imperator, like the king, the racial shavinists are thinking for the outcome, the smothering Belarusian mova - the one who is called the genius Adam Mitskevich the most sympathetic and most popular Slavs. Nashaya mova here znіshchalasya naybolsh "kvalіfіkavana" in ezuіtsku: lip abvyashchalasya Yai svabodnae razvіtso i funktsyyavanne and ¢ rechaіsnastsі rabіlasya ўso naadvarot - of Matt peratvaryts Belarusian movu ¢ dyyalekt raseyskay i kanchatkova znіshchyts Yai yak vyraznіka admyslovaga people Iago duhoўnastsі i Culture . "
Such transparencies are not uncommon at the speeches of the Belarusian opposition. Photo: nn.by
Mikalay Krukoўski, Doctar of Philosophical Science:
“Dzyarzhaunaga’s status and status for the Russian people, as it was aloud to the referendum of 1995, because of the needy’s not only tragic memory, don’t think the wise parts of the Belarusian people and the rulers of the Belarusian people Aposhnіya svyadoma pastavіlі sabe for Matt ўklyuchenne of Belarus yak pravіntsyynay gubernі ¢ warehouse Rasіyskay Federatsyі, fifth most staўshy on Way adkrytay dzyarzhaўnay i natsyyanalnay zdrady, more Toe pryvyadze in perspektyve not tolkі yes gіbelі Belarusian natsyyanalnay culture, ale i da znіshchennyu suverenіtetu Respublika Belarus in tselym. Status ruska movy yak moy dzyarzhaўnay adygryae ў sennyashnyh varunks play the role of traiansk cany, yak skasoўvaye ўse trenches on adradzhenna of the Belarusian people, yago culture and yago independent dzyarzhaўnasts. "
We recommend that you read the article: Version # 2
The Bolsheviks had a slightly different version.
One of the most active organizers of the 1st All-Belarusian Congress (December 1917) Eusebius Kancher in Smolny (the headquarters of the Bolshevik government) had a direct conversation with Lunacharsky (the firstPeople's Commissar of Education RSFSR), the content of which was as follows:
LUNACHARSKY. Do the Belarusian people understand the language used by Belarusian leaders with greetings and declarations?
CANCHER. Does not understand.
LUNACHARSKY. Do Belarusians have their own language to nationalize schools and institutions?
CANCHER. The Belarusian national movement, led by the Belarusian Great Rada, has developed a Belarusian language that is different from Russian and folk Belarusian, but very close to Polish. This language is absolutely not popular among the people, among teachers and Belarusians of Eastern orientation. The Belarusian Regional Committee believes that autonomous Belarus can exist with the language it knows and recognizes as its own. As for the national language, it will be created by the people as soon as the need becomes clear.
LUNACHARSKY. Consequently, the school and institutions are not nationalized?
CANCHER. Schools and institutions can switch to Belarusian for years, as the language is created. But they can just as well strengthen the Russian language if the people want it. "
There are also other versions, we will consider them in our next articles.
But it is already clear that the question is ambiguous. Some argue that the language is being destroyed. At the same time, the emphasis is on the linguistic genocide by the Russians. The linguistic and cultural desert, which the Poles arranged for us in the Commonwealth and in Western Belarus under Jozef Pilsudski, if it is mentioned, it is somehow casually.
And others say that the problem is different - that a single language for the entire Belarusian people has not yet formed, and the version of the language developed by the nation-builders does not take root among the people. But here it remains in the defaults:Why did the Belarusians need to inoculate a certain language at all? What preceded this?
Let's start gradually unraveling this complex tangle of contradictions.
What does linguistics say?
According to a number of authors, the linguistic situation in Belarus, like Belarusian sociolinguistics in general, is one of the poorly studied areas of Belarusian studies, but nevertheless it is no secret for specialists that linguistically Belarusian and Russian are two closely related languages.
True, sometimes other opinions are expressed. A.E. Taras in one of his books writes:
“Only an ignorant person who knows nothing about linguistics can say, for example, that the Belarusian and Russian languages are practically twins. Lexically, the coincidence of the Belarusian and Russian does not exceed 25-30% ... while the Belarusian vocabulary coincides with the Polish language by 60-70%. A Belarusian without a translator understands Polish, Slovak, Ukrainian, but a Russian without an interpreter does not understand Belarusian, just like any other Slavic language. "
But here, firstly, the very formulation of the question is ignorant, since in linguistics there can be no two languages, "like twins" are similar to each other (then they will be forms of the same language), and comparisons of two languages for their difference or similarities cannot be started with vocabulary (first of all, the grammatical structure is compared).
Secondly, as mentioned above, the Belarusian and Russian languages are not just related languages, but closely related ones (morphology, the basis of the language, testifies to this too clearly). If you are interested in this topic in more detail, we recommend reading the book by Vladimir Tulinov "My language is my friend" (Belarus. Bilingualism. Pros and cons), where the author argues in detail and thoroughly with Taras, Goldenkov and Derzhinsky on the topic of linguistic features of the Belarusian and Russian languages, and shows the flawed logic of opponents.
Since we are talking about vocabulary, for clarity, we will give a table where everyone can compare which language is closer.
That is, one of the reasons is the kinship, the similarity of the two languages. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, the outstanding Slavic scholar, philologist, ethnographer and paleographer E.F. Karsky in his works showed that the Belarusian language is a form (one of many) of that Old Russian language, which once disintegrated into various dialect languages of the East Slavic group.
It is important to note that it is not an easy task for linguists to trace how this ancient Russian language "disintegrated" into its different branches. And not every philologist will be able to distinguish unequivocally: where is the dialect, where is the dialect, and where is the original language.
The Old Belarusian dialect is very close to the usual Old Russian language. Don't believe me? Here is the title page of the "Catechism" by Simon Budny (1562) A very important reason
Another, in our opinion, a very important reason, which for some reason various nationalists do not pay attention to, is the incessant wars of conquest that were waged by Western civilization. The wars were catastrophic for the inhabitants of the Belarusian lands, as they were fought not only for plunder, but also for extermination. Accordingly, large numbers of native speakers were periodically exterminated. Here are just some examples (far from all!):
Northern War (1700 - 1721)... From the very beginning, hostilities unfolded on the territory of Belarus. In 1700-1702 it was occupied by Swedish troops. In the spring of 1705, Peter 1 sent his army to Poland, driving out the Swedish troops on its way. In the winter of 1705-1706. the Swedes went on the offensive again. In December 1707, Charles XII with an army of 45 thousand people began his campaign through Belarus to Moscow. In January 1708, Swedish troops occupied Grodno, Smorgon in February, and Mogilev in July. In the occupied territories, the Swedes burned down towns and villages, plundered the population, and committed robbery.
From the first days of the war, the Belarusian people put up stubborn resistance to the Swedish invaders. The peasants hid or destroyed bread and cattle, went into the forests to join the partisans. Many fierce battles took place on the territory of Belarus. So, for example, on September 28, 1708, near the village of Lesnoy, Russian troops under the command of Peter I in a fierce battle defeated Levengaupt's corps, which was marching from the Baltic States to the aid of King Charles.
Ultimately, the Great Northern War ended with the victory of the Russian state, but for Belarus it brought a lot of misfortune. Brest, Grodno, Minsk, Vitebsk and especially Mogilev were destroyed. The urban population has decreased by 30-70%.
Patriotic War of 1812.From the first days of the Patriotic War of 1812, the territory of Belarus became the arena of military operations. A significant part of the population of Belarus, believing the promises of Napoleon to revive the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the lands captured by his army, took the side of the French. Many, supporting the Russian army, went to the partisans. For the first time, it was during the Patriotic War of 1812 that the partisan movement became widespread.
The war, which was short in terms of time, was nevertheless fierce. Fierce battles and battles once again took place on the land of Belarus, for example, near Klyastitsy or on the Berezina near Borisov. The war brought great suffering to the Belarusian people. Vitebsk, Polotsk, Minsk, Grodno and many other cities and villages were plundered and mostly burned. Many people died, died of hunger and disease. The places of battles and battles were littered with the corpses of people and horses, which were not cleaned by anyone. As a result of the war, the area under crops and livestock were reduced by almost half.
The war cost the Belarusians a million people - every fourth.
Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).No unnecessary comments are needed here - this war, the entire burden of the struggle against German fascism, just like other peoples of the Soviet Union, the Belarusian people carried on their shoulders. 2 million 250 thousand Belarusians paid with their lives the dear price of Victory in the Great Patriotic War ...
Output:
Today we have provided statistics on which language the Belarusians speak predominantly, and considered two possible reasons why such a linguistic situation has developed in our country.At firstThis is the fact that both Russian and Belarusian languages are equally native for Belarusians and in some cases are very difficult to distinguish from each other.Secondly, carriers of a peculiar Belarusian dialect, were periodically exterminated in numerous destructive wars caused by the aggressive expansion of the West.
That is, the claims of the nationalists that the "damned Muscovites" are to blame for everything are too banal and primitive. They do not bear any constructiveness, but only divide the Belarusians into “right” and “wrong” citizens.
And many in our country are not against the Belarusian culture and language, but against such divisions. Does anyone prevent someone from writing various texts in the Belarusian language - scientific, artistic, philosophical, religious - so that more and more people become imbued with the Belarusian culture and become familiar with it? The answer is obvious.
And the root of the problem is not that someone prohibits speaking or oppresses the Belarusian language, but in the desire to find another reason to drive a wedge into relations between Russia and Belarus. In this sense, the example of Ukraine is very indicative, where the question of “Mova” was raised in a similar way.
It is clear that it is easier to blame others for everything, but this is not something on which to build the Belarusian national idea, which should unite the people. What the nationalists are proposing at the present stage are ideas that divide, sow enmity and hatred. Today we objectively need other ideas, more powerful and creative, which are capable of uniting. And not only within the framework of one nation, country or union, but also of all mankind.
The future belongs to such Ideas, and local chauvinism should remain in the past.
We recommend that you read the article:
Sources and Literature:
1. Dal Vladimir. Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language: T. 1 .;
2. Anyamenne: from the chronicles of the Belarusian language. - Vilnya: 2000;
3. Eusebius Kancher. From the history of the Civil War in Belarus in 1917-1920.
4. Taras A. Anatomy of hatred, Russian-Polish conflicts in the 18-20 centuries;
5. Vladimir Tulinov. My tongue is my friend. (Belarus. Bilingualism. Pros and cons);
6. Tokarevsky A.V. History of military art.
A few days ago, news spread via the bynet that a certain initiative group was collecting signatures in order to oblige all manufacturers of goods to draw up packaging in two state languages at the same time. This is motivated by the fact that, allegedly, the absence of the Belarusian language on the packaging violates the rights of Belarusian-speaking citizens. This interpretation surprised me a little, I have been living in Balarus for 20 years and during this time I heard Belarusian speech literally 1-2 times in everyday communication, so I decided to conduct a little research and find out how much the Belarusian language is in demand in Belarus.
Conducting polls on this topic is a thankless task - people are very cunning and deceiving during the questionnaire, as according to the results of the last census, the Belarusian was called native by 53% of the population. It is obvious to any resident of the Republic of Belarus that this does not correspond to reality, the Belarusian speech is not heard either on the street, or in clubs, or in restaurants, or in public transport, or at work, or in other places where people gather. People speak Russian, no half of the Belarusian-speaking population is in question.
The best way to find out everything about a person is to look at his page on the social network. Here is all his communication, all his correspondence and interests, here he can afford to be himself and here, consciously or unconsciously, puts almost all information about himself.
Almost the entire socially active population of Belarus is registered in the contact - 5 million 239 thousand people:
The total population of the country is 9.5 million, we cut off babies, children and decrepit old people - everything fits together. The contact has all the possibilities for communication in Belarusian - there is a Belarusian interface, you can specify Belarusian as the language of communication. Let's see how many people indicated the Belarusian language on their contact page:
In addition to the classic Belarusian, there is an opportunity to choose a tarashkevitsa:
In total, out of 5 million 200 thousand people, Belarusian on their page indicated 290,156 people - a little more than 5%, this is very little, the Belarusians indicate English in their profiles even more often:
And even this figure does not reflect the real number of Belarusian-speaking citizens of the country, the screenshots clearly show that the questionnaires in which Belarusian is indicated as the language used are drawn up in Russian. This is an extremely important indicator, a person for whom the Belarusian language is native, and who has the opportunity to use the resource in Belarusian, will switch the interface to Belarusian mode, indicate his name in Belarusian, albums with photographs and notes on the wall will be written in Belarusian, as this person for example:
Let's see how many Belarusians are in contact who actually use the Belarusian language in everyday communication, as Ales does. I enter into the search the most common names, first in Belarusian, then in Russian. First name Ivan:
There were only 8 people in the whole country of Belarusian Ivana. Let's see how many Ivanov are Russian-speaking:
55 thousand 547 people - the difference is 7 thousand times. Perhaps Ivan is not the most popular name in Belarus, let's try another one:
Mikalayaў there are 82 people in the whole of Belarus, and Nikolaev:
Forty-eight thousand, already better, a difference of 585 times. I'll try a few more popular names:
Alyaksandraў for the whole of Belarus 332 people, and Alexandrov 226 thousand:
The Uladzimir \ Vladimir ratio is 1 to 410:
I think these examples are enough, you can substitute any name, the ratio will be similar. We are not talking about a third of the population, not about the percentage of the population, we are talking about per thousand. Almost no one speaks Belarusian in everyday life - several thousand people out of 9.5 million.
Output
De facto, the population has no demand for the Belarusian language, the language is practically dead, so the obligation to label products in both languages is stupid and counterproductive. There are more people with vision in the country than Belarusian-speaking citizens, it would be more logical to oblige manufacturers to mark packaging in Braille, there would be more benefits from such an initiative. I really hope that the collection of signatures will continue with the same success as now, then with practically zero, then one obligation in an already too obligatory country will be less.
Exactly 2 months have passed, the petition, which was written about by all major Belarusian media, collected 4423 signatures. Actually, what was required to prove
A little more educational program:
There was a time when our Riga made the same impression on tourists. "Why is there nowhere and nothing in Russian written - all the same, there is Russian speech around, and your question will be answered in Russian?" Indeed, even in the menu of restaurants popular among tourists, they wrote only and exclusively in Latvian.
And the locals had to explain to the guests about our national peculiarities - about the law on the state language and cautious entrepreneurs, and so on, so on ...
Now we have these difficulties with translation and excesses, it seems, basically, already behind us - the graduates of our Russian schools began to speak in large quantities in Latvian, and regardless of nationality. Yes, and foreigners in Riga's restaurant bars are no longer a nightmare in the Latvian language: the restaurant and hotel business in Latvia has grown to respect the client, communicating in a language that he understands.
Everything is different in Belarus. There are two official languages here - Belarusian and Russian. Moreover
Russian in Belarus received the status of the state language as a result of a referendum: in the mid-90s, more than 80 percent of all participants in the referendum voted for.
After all, the linguistic situation in the country is special, unique in its own way for the former post-Soviet space.
About 15 percent of the population consider themselves Russian in Belarus, but two-thirds of the Belarusian-speaking residents choose Russian in their family and everyday life. And only 6 percent of Belarusians constantly use the Belarusian language. However, sociological studies and census data give different figures. But on the streets of Vitebsk, for example, the predominance of Russian visitors immediately catches the eye.
Experts believe that the language situation in Belarus today resembles that of Ireland.
The country has been free from political dependence on Great Britain for a long time, but English clearly dominates here. And Irish, although it is considered the state language, is supported only by the efforts of the national intelligentsia.
Lost in translation
In my presence, one of my colleagues asked a Belarusian philology student: does anyone speak Belarusian here?
Yes, it turns out, say the writers, journalists, representatives of the nationally oriented intelligentsia. In rural areas, many people speak, but hardly in pure Belarusian.
Rather - depending on the geography of the region - on a local mixture of Belarusian with Russian, Ukrainian or Polish.
And if it's so easy on the street to address a person in Belarusian, then what? Most likely, he will answer you in Belarusian, but this is not a fact. On Pushkin Street, where on the occasion of the city's holiday and weekends, craftsmen and Vitebsk artists were set up tables with souvenirs, we got into a conversation with a local resident Ivan. Including - about the Belarusian language.
Ivan also says to me: they say, it happens that he himself is reproached that he is a Belarusian, but for some reason he speaks Russian.
But what good is it to him, offering a product, to speak with a person in a language that he does not understand at all? ..
After all, there are townspeople and a lot of tourists on a pedestrian. And the Russian language is equally understandable to everyone. The native language of my interlocutor is Belarusian, and he speaks Russian in most situations in life. Which fully confirms the statistics.
... and the joy of recognition
By the way, both the Latvian and Lithuanian speech in Vitebsk also sounds quite often. In any case, over the course of three days in the city, I happened to meet my compatriots more than once. Vitebsk is still geographically very close to Latvia - it's only 230 km from our Kraslava, and even less to the border.
Cross-border cooperation between Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus is developing, and the Vitebsk region is geographically included in such programs.
The Belarusian holiday Kupala is like our Ligo. Photo: Vasily Fedosenko, Reuters / Scanpix
Latgale has a lot in common with Vitebsk region.
There are family and friendship ties, the habit of visiting each other or buying overstock with neighbors is still preserved, the price difference is great.
Look at how many cars with Belarusian license plates are parked at the Daugavpils shopping center on weekends! By the way, we were in Vitebsk just in those days when journalists from Belarus who wrote about tourism were visiting Latvia - including Kuldiga and Riga.
Take a curious look at Vizit Jurmala's Facebook page, how fun the Belarusians are learning Latvian on this trip: and the vocabulary is completely different from the one taught at school, but the most suitable for strengthening friendship and cooperation!
Language as a national color
In Vitebsk I met people in national "embroidered shirts" - just on the street, in a crowd of passers-by. Occasionally, but met. But basically there was an impression that the bright signs of Belarusian originality moved to the region national flavor, such as is shown mainly on patriotic holidays and to foreign tourists.
We have heard the same beautiful Belarusian MOV - in lively and figurative speech and in a song version - only once, and in a museum. Thanks to Raisa Gribovich, actress of the Vitebsk National Academic Drama Theater named after Yakub Kolas!
How delicious she speaks and sings beautifully!
Raisa Gribovich, actress of the Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theater. Photo: Tatiana Odynya / Russian TVNET
We were lucky to listen to it by pure chance. Some important Chinese guests were expected in the Repin estate Zdravnevo near Vitebsk. And while they were driving - Raisa Stepanovna and the participants of the Vitebsk festival "PhotoKrok" sang wonderful with all her heart.
"Vitebsk residents" or - "Vitebsk residents"?
The residents of the city have another linguistic and principled dispute: how should they correctly call themselves?
In Minsk, the townspeople are Minskers, in Moscow - Muscovites, and in the city of Vitebsk - who? ..
There are two colloquially practiced variants - Vitebsk residents and Vitebsk residents. Moreover, both are considered to be practically equal in rights. Those who come from hereditary townspeople in several generations are in favor of "Vitebsk".
And they tell, by the way, such a story. When the city of Vitebsk - even during the Soviet era - was preparing to solemnly celebrate its 1000th anniversary, the chaste party members considered it completely indecent in the "Vitebsk" this very " fucking"... And they began to intensively introduce the new" Vitebsk residents "into the minds and speech of Vitebsk residents ...
So the old-timers consider one of the names imposed by philologists-ideologists at the behest of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus. Maybe this is true, or maybe fiction, no one will say for sure.
Embroidered shirts, Belarusian character and the memory of the war
Having declared its independence, Belarus clearly did not follow the path of creating an ethno-national state. Or rather, already during the presidency of Alexander Lukashenko, she abandoned this path. There are, of course, today individual actions to promote signs and symbols of national identity to the masses. And they enjoy state support.
Humanly attractive shares are also among them. For example,
This year the kids born on the eve of the Independence Day were given gifts with the meaning: “Padars are not maulyatsi vyshyvanka” - this is the name of the recent action in Belarusian.
Starting from June 15, the newborns received embroidered shirts with traditional Belarusian ornament.
Many signs play the role of a talisman, so they presented wonderful clothes to parents in different regions of the country of kids.
But for people it is rather exotic.
The historical memory, the memory of the old war, sacred to Belarusians, is another matter - today you cannot imagine the Belarusian character without it.
When you admire the modern city of Vitebsk, you cannot even imagine that after its liberation by Soviet troops, there was no city in this place ... Of the 180 thousand people of its pre-war population ... 118 people remained. More than 90 percent of the housing stock has been destroyed ...
The American allies are said to have sent a commission to assess the damage. And, having visited the ruins of Vitebsk, they said: dead, they say, this is a city and there is no such force that could bring it back to life ... That's when not only a savvy guide tells you about all this, but many townspeople, including very young, then you understand something important, real, important about the city and the townspeople.
Memorial in honor of Soviet soldiers, partisans and underground workers of the Vitebsk region. Image Credit Flickr User tjabeljan
"And be sure to go to the" Three Bayonets "! .." My acquaintance Ivan, an artist from Vitebsk pedestrian, a young bartender and many other people all three days advise that in Vitebsk you should definitely see
... Three Bayonets is a memorial complex in honor of Soviet soldiers, partisans and underground fighters in the Vitebsk region, built in Soviet times, and now replenished with old military equipment and turned into an open-air park-museum.
Late Sunday evening is not the best time to visit such places. But, one has only to climb the stairs with the embankment crowded with beer rows, as you can see: there are people here even at night.
Illuminating a flashlight, a late family with children examines the park's military equipment ... Teenagers with bicycles stand for a long time by the eternal flame. Young guys wander, serious conversations talk ...
Here is such a strange city - Vitebsk.
According to UNESCO, the Belarusian language is on the verge of extinction, although half a century ago it was actively used by millions of people.
"It is under the potential threat of extinction" - this is the diagnosis from UNESCO that the language of the indigenous population of Belarus received, which was even indicated on a symbolic map called "World languages in danger".
Why does he disappear? The answer is simple: it is almost never used in everyday communication. A small part of the intelligentsia, part of the conscious youth and old people - these are the main speakers of the language, which was used by millions of people 50 years ago.
“Nasha Niva” counted 50 main reasons why today's youth do not want to speak Belarusian. For this, about 300 students of the country's leading universities were interviewed (they talked to someone in person, someone answered on Twitter and other social networks).
The editors chose 50 of the most interesting and most common answers: some of them are quite reasonable, others are primitive, but sincere, there are obscure and even offensive. But it is these answers that best reflect the "achievements" of the authorities in the development of linguistic culture and national consciousness.
We offer 50 possible answers to the question “Why don't you speak Belarusian?”:
1). I don't know the language at all.
2). They haven't taught me since childhood.
3). Nobody speaks Belarusian to me, here I am the same way.
4). I don’t know so well that I could easily express myself in it.
5). I don’t have time to study it.
6). I am outside Belarus a lot. The language is simply not needed.
7). If I start talking, I will not be understood at work.
eight). School, university, family - everything is in Russian.
nine). Despite the fact that the language is beautiful, there is an opinion that only collective farmers speak it. It's hard to be the same in the eyes of society.
ten). I do not fully feel that I am a Belarusian as a representative of the nation.
eleven). My parents never insisted that I be serious about mov.
12). Do not know much. I am a perfectionist. Either I'm doing great, or I'm not doing it at all.
13). I have basic knowledge, I can even keep up a conversation. But somehow it is easier for me to communicate in English.
fourteen). This is unnecessary and meaningless.
15). This language is more suitable for grandparents, but not for young people.
16). There is no patriotism.
17). A system of communication in Russian or English has long been established, no matter if it is a shop or an office.
eighteen). I like the language, but it is not the leading one for me (acting or living).
19). I like Russian more.
twenty). school he was allowed to skip.
21). I'm afraid they'll go to jail.
22). I do not like the sounds "g" and "h".
23). She entered honey and stopped.
24). I'm waiting for Apple to release IOS in Belarusian.
25). I'm embarrassed.
26). I talked for about 2 months. I'm tired of it. Hard.
27). My parents won't understand me if I suddenly start speaking Belarusian. They educate me all my life in Russian, and here I am "for the first time".
28). As soon as we join the EU - so immediately.
29). Today it is the language of the opposition. If you speak Belarusian, then you are going against the system.
thirty). I have enough of him in the subway.
31). There is little modern literature, there is nowhere to get knowledge.
32). Do not know! I envy the Ukrainians a little. Austria-Hungary helped them, as they still say in the West. And from us everything has been weathered long ago.
33). Politically insecure language.
34). What will change if I start talking?
35). He's a little funny.
36). It has become artificial today.
37). The language has not taken root in modern society, I personally speak the language of the majority.
38). I don’t recognize Trasyanka as a language, but I don’t know how to do it in another way.
39). "Belarusian language" is a Polish anti-Russian project. He has little more than nothing to do with the Belarusian people.
40). It is difficult to speak Belarusian when everything is in Russian.
41). Because there just isn't anyone.
42). I often use obscene language, but in Belarusian it is not. Seriously, I just don't know.
43) It is difficult to speak your native language, as its use is minimal, and some look at you as an alien.
44). To my shame, I can't normally. I think in Russian.
45). I don’t know very well, but it’s not quite decent to speak half-Russian-half-Belarusian.
46). Difficult to stand out and practice is not enough.
47). Understand correctly, but somehow from birth I feel more Russian, although I myself am a Belarusian with a Polish surname. Somehow that direction is closer to my liking.
48). We have actually been part of the Russian Empire for 300 years. How can you speak Belarusian in such a situation?
49). It's more comfortable for me.
50). Does anyone need this?
As they say, draw your own conclusions.