The controversy between the Belarusian diaspora and sceptics of the official status of the Belarusian language during the Great Duchy of Lithuania era

Abstract

Belarusian researchers abroad have devoted considerable efforts to the study of their mother language’s history. They have paid particular attention to those pages of Belarusian history that were enriched by the intensive development of the language and the culture. For that reason, they have always reacted quickly and harshly to all attempts to lower the rank of the Belarusian language in the context of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In opposition to representatives of neighbouring nations, they have referred to publications of other researchers worldwide, and especially from Belarus, which explain the linguistic and terminological differences that have appeared over the course of the centuries.