Is There a Polish Language in the Hrodna Region (Belarus)? An Outline of Key Issues

Abstract

The article presents a study of the Polish language among Poles coming from three cities of the Hrodna region (Hrodna, Lida and Vawkavysk ). The basis for consideration is the analysis of linguistic material which was obtained through recordings or continuous interviews with Poles who represent different generations. The first part presents a general outline of the contemporary sociolinguistic situation of Poles in Belarus. In the second part of the article, the starting point was the definetion of the concept of the Polish urban language in the discourse on the contemporary Polish language; then, it presents characteristic linguistic and sociolinguistic features that can be treated as distinguishing features of the urban language in Hrodna. The results have been contrasted with previous studies of the Polish language in the areas of Western Belarus, which served to answer the question posed in the title of the article.