Symbolic Bilingualism in Contemporary Ukrainian Media

Abstract

This study focuses on the social meaning behind the use of both Ukrainian and Russian in various media texts in contemporary Ukraine. I begin by situating the language issue within the current socio-political context; specifically, I briefly summarize recent language debates relevant to this paper. Secondly, I analyze selected media texts from television programs, films and popular magazines—all instances of the simultaneous and parallel use of Ukrainian and Russian. The analysis is then extended to a discussion of the media’s stake in framing the linguistic situation in Ukraine.The texts in question are approached on the premise that “media usage influences and represents people’s use of and attitude towards language in a speech community” (Bell and Garrett 1998: 3). I consider the media’s choice of language an institutionalized means of framing reality (Popp 2006: 6) and therefore the use of language in the media acts symbolically, creating prevalent ideas about what language can and should do in a particular society (Woolard and Schieffelin 1994, cited in Popp 2006: 5).My analysis of communicative exchange is carried out from the perspective of codeswitching that takes place within a larger social and political context. I address the social dichotomy of “we/they” or what Gumperz (1972) calls “metaphorical code-switching.” My analysis rests also on Auer’s code-switching framework, specifically his notions of “preference-related switching” and “sustained divergence of language choices” (1998b).

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