Manifestations of "Bilingualism" in Contemporary Belarusian Prose

Abstract

This paper examines the various manifestations of bilingualism in the contemporary Belarusian literary field, with a particular focus on the works of Hanna Jankuta (Čas pustazeľlja), Saša Filipenka (Byvšyj syn, Kremuljator, Slon), and Viktar Marcinovič (Mova). It traces the historical development of Belarusian bilingualism and its complex connection to questions of national identity and cultural politics in post-Soviet Belarus. The study highlights how these historical and ideological tensions have contributed to a persistent stratification within the literary community, where language choice is often an ideological or identity choice. The analysis argues that the bi- and even multilingual writing strategies, including code-switching and code-mixing between Russian, Belarusian and trasjanka, as well as translation strategies, serve several functions: they can provide access to different literary markets, act as markers of symbolic resistance or exoticization, and reflect a conscious process of identity seeking and (re)building.