ODRĘBNOŚĆ JĘZYKOWA MAŁYCH GRUP ETNICZNYCH I JEJ ROLA W PROCESACH WALKI O UZNANIE ORAZ POLITYCE TOŻSAMOŚCI. ANALIZA PORÓWNAWCZA SYTUACJI RUSINÓW...
LANGUAGE SEPARATENESS OF SMALL ETHNIC GROUPS AND ITS ROLE IN THE PROCESSES OF STRUGGLE FOR RECOGNITION AND THE POLICY OF IDENTITY. CARPATHIAN...

Summary/Abstract: For ethnic groups which do not have their own state and struggle for recognition, standardization of their language, proving its separateness, and actions for its preservation and its presence in the public sphere very often pose a serious challenge. The processes encounter opposition from different social actors both from within the group and from without. When lacking their own state to ensure institutional support for their activities, their burden rests first of all on the ethnic leaders. This article is based on the results of empirical research carried out among ethnic leaders. It presents the role of one’s language as the key to defining a separate status of the group and the manner in which it is used in the struggle for the recognition and in the policy of identity in two ethic groups struggling for a change in their status and legal empowerment: Carpathian Rusyns and Silesians. From a comparative perspective, the article analyses the course of discussion of opponents and proponents of granting the two ethnolects the status of separate language. In both cases, the necessity to prove the separateness of one’s language is one of the conditions for being recognized in law.

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