Favorite Letter: Shifts in Language Ideologies as Reflections of Overcoming Postcolonial Ambivalence in Wartime

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dc.contributor.authorKobchenko, Nataliaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-12T08:45:16Z
dc.date.available2026-01-12T08:45:16Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractBackground. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, besides all traumatic consequences for Ukrainian society, has led to fundamental shifts in self-awareness and self-identification of Ukrainians, and these shifts have been reflected in language ideologies. In addition to explicit changes regarding the switching of a significant percentage of Russophone Ukrainians to the Ukrainian language, there have also been profound changes concerning rethinking the role of language in constructing identity and preserving statehood. Contribution to the research field. This study serves as a case analysis examining the development of language ideologies within a postcolonial society through their expression in various textual and visual representations of a single symbol— the letter "ї", which has emerged as a symbol of the Ukrainian language and a marker of its distinctiveness. The importance and originality of this study lie in the fact that it helps us to understand the cultural and psychological shifts in society during the period of a unique historical experience: from the formal liberation from colonial dependence to the time of armed resistance to recolonization. Purpose. This study aims to analyze language ideologies of Ukrainians represented by the letter "ї" from 1991 to the present day and find out how they reflect different modes of thinking regarding colonial experience, its realization and overcoming. Methods. The research methodology is based on the theoretical framework of such interdisciplinary fields as postcolonial studies, language ideology, and critical discourse analysis. Taking into account the diversity of empirical material, in addition, certain insights of graphic linguistics, studies of linguistic landscape, and geosemiotics have been added to the research tools. Results. Until February 24, 2022, the language ideologies of Ukrainian society represented by the letter "ї" reflected a state of postcolonial ambivalence. The language ideologies of uniqueness, attitude towards the language as a national treasure, and sacralization conveyed an anticolonial mode of thinking, as they were aimed at denying Soviet narratives about inferiority, provincialism, and the unprestigious status of the Ukrainian language. Meanwhile, the ideology of femininity expressed the colonial way of thinking directly as it embodied a view of oneself from the colonizer’s perspective. The language ideologies of weakness and endangerment as a legacy of being under the control of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union were triggered by the strong position of the Russian language in the public space. After February 24, 2022, the language ideologies of femininity, weakness, and endangerment represented by the letter "ї" have been displaced by ideologies of masculinity, strength, and resistance, broadcasting anticolonial thinking. At the same time, certain tendencies testify to the decolonization of thinking as well: 1) the attitude towards language as a national treasure (a feature of postcolonial societies) has changed to a pragmatic attitude (as a means of communication); 2) the ideology of uniqueness has not been based on the opposition to the Russian language but instead realized in a global context, which evidences a departure from the cognitive dichotomy "colonizer – colonized"; 3) the role of the Ukrainian language in constructing identity and maintaining sovereignty has transited from symbolic to practical. Discussion. In Ukraine, the process of overcoming colonialism and coloniality unfolds in a non-linear way. After formal liberation from political dependence in 1991, the period of postcolonial ambivalence, which is inherent in the coexistence of anticolonial and colonial modes of thinking, occurred. After Russia’s full-scale invasion, the process of decolonization was activated, which coincides with anticolonial resistance that is reflected in thinking as well, in particular in the transformation of linguistic ideologies.en_US
dc.identifier.citationKobchenko N. Favorite Letter: Shifts in Language Ideologies as Reflections of Overcoming Postcolonial Ambivalence in Wartime / Natalia Kobchenko // Мова: класичне - модерне - постмодерне. - 2025. - Вип. 11 (спеціальний випуск). - С. 67-103. - https://doi.org/10.18523/lcmp2522-9281.2025.11.67-103en_US
dc.identifier.issn2522-9281
dc.identifier.issn2616-7115
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.18523/lcmp2522-9281.2025.11.67-103
dc.identifier.urihttps://ekmair.ukma.edu.ua/handle/123456789/38067
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.relation.sourceМова: класичне - модерне - постмодернеuk_UA
dc.statusfirst publisheden_US
dc.subjectlanguage ideologyen_US
dc.subjectUkrainian languageen_US
dc.subjectthe letter "ї"en_US
dc.subjectcolonial thinkingen_US
dc.subjectanticolonial thinkingen_US
dc.subjectpostcolonial ambivalenceen_US
dc.subjectdecolonizationen_US
dc.subjectarticleen_US
dc.titleFavorite Letter: Shifts in Language Ideologies as Reflections of Overcoming Postcolonial Ambivalence in Wartimeen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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Випуск 11 (Спеціальний випуск)
Кафедра української мови