February 22, BPN. “Unfortunately, our situation does not allow us to fully appreciate the fact that we have such a treasure – our native Belarusian language,” Aliena Anisim, the former chair of the public association Francišak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society told BPN on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day (celebrated on February 21).
“Today, the Belarusian language has been ousted from education and is hardly used in the media,” says Anisim. “The official authorities, first of all, shun the official Belarusian language, the national language of their people. This is very unfortunate. So far, we haven’t seen any positive trends, strong, powerful ones, that would allow us to conclude that there is a thorough and permanent rather than a temporary turnaround on the part of the current authorities, which would allow us to calm down and to continue to promote the Belarusian language.”
However, according to Anisim, “there are things that might inspire some optimism.” “I am glad to see that one of the ways for the promotion of the Belarusian language, the national dictation, initiated by the Belarusian Language Society, has taken root in the society,” she said. “Despite the fact that the Society has been liquidated, dictations are held in different places of Belarus, in Hrodna region, in particular, in Lida district, and also in Minsk region. The National Academy of Sciences has also conducted the Republican Dictation for the second time.”
The ex-chair of the Belarusian Languge Society stressed that she and other promoters of Belarusian now face the task “to find such forms of activities so that Belarus could be led in the future by people who are sympathetic to the Belarusian language and who understand that the Belarusian language is the basis of the successful development of the country.”
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