Resumen de Mixed language usage in Belarus: the sociostructural background of language choice

Bernhard Kittel, Diana Lindner, Sviatlana Tesch, Gerd Hentschel

• This article reports findings from a survey on language usage in Belarus, which encompasses bilingual Belarusian and Russian. First, the distribution of language usage is discussed. Then the dependency of language usage on some sociocultural conditions is explored. Finally, the changes in language usage over three generations are discussed. We find that a mixed Belarusian–Russian form of speech is widely used in the cities studied and that it is spoken across all educational levels. However, it seems to be predominantly utilized in informal communication, especially among friends and family members, leaving Russian and Belarusian to more formal or public venues.