Language Policy and Language Situation in Ukraine : Analysis and Recommendations

The language situation in Ukraine is complex, language policy often not consistent. Although Ukrainian is the only state language, nearly half of the population prefers Russian in daily communication. It is difficult to harmonise the Ukrainianisation policy of the government which considers the Ukrainian language to be a corner stone of nation building, and the demands of Russian-speaking citizens and the Council of Europe. This volume presents the results of the interdisciplinary INTAS project "Language policy in Ukraine: Anthropological, linguistic and further perspectives" (August 2006 - July 2008). The final recommendations for future language policy aim to disseminate the state language Ukrainian on the whole territory and to strengthen the rights of the non-state languages. Ten scholars from five disciplines analyse the complex language situation in Ukraine and arrive at common recommendations for future language policy.