U.S. English Foundation Research
BELARUS
Language Research
6. Language in everyday life: The use of language in everyday life, e.g. education, broadcasting, and other
SCHOOLS
During the communist era, education was mainly conducted in the Russian language; by 1987 there were no Belarusian-language schools in any of the republic's urban areas. When Belarusian was adopted as the country's official language in 1990, children were to be taught in Belarusian as early as primary school; Russian language, history, and literature were to be replaced with Belarusian language, history, and literature. However, Russian remained the main language of instruction in both secondary schools and institutions of higher education. Many people still wanted their children to be educated in the Russian language rather than in Belarusian, and some government officials agreed to give interviews only in Russian. According to data assembled in 1992 by the Sociology Center of the Belarusian State University, some 60% of those polled preferred to use Russian in their daily life, 75% favored bilingualism in state institutions, and only 17% favored having the government declare Belarusian the sole official language of the country. One Western source reported that in the early 1990s, only 11% of the population, most of who lived in the countryside, was fluent in Belarusian.
MEDIA
In late 1992, Belarus had 586 officially approved periodicals: 140 in Belarusian, 159 in Russian, and 241 in both Belarusian and Russian. Other publications combined Russian with another language or were published in English, Polish, or Ukrainian. The only daily newspaper published completely in Belarusian was "Zvyazda" (Star). Other dailies included "Sovetskaya Belorussiya" (Soviet Belorussia) and "Vechernyy Minsk" (Evening Minsk), published in Russian, and "Narodnaya hazyeta" (People's Newspaper), published in both Belarusian and Russian.
Top of page
Updated (November 2003)
MEDIA
There is one national television channel (First National Television Channel), covering more than 90 percent of the Republic's area. The Russian channels ORT and RTR are also received and some regions receive also NTV "Culture" and TV-6. Western regions of Belarussia receive the programs of Polish television.
According to the Presidential Decree #101 of February 15, 2002, the second national television channel, "ZAO," which will partially broadcast on ORT frequencies, is planned to be created in Belarussia.
Broadcasting on the first national television channel is predominately in Russian; however, news and some programs are also transmitted in the Belarussian language. There are no programs for minorities on this channel.
Source: Minority-language Related Broadcasting and Legislation in the OSCE, Program in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP), Center for Socio-Legal Studies, Wolfson College, Oxford University & Institute for Information Law (IViR) (http://www.ivir.nl/index-english.html), Universiteit van Amsterdam (Study commissioned by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities), April 2003, edited by T. McGonagle (IViR), B. Davis Noll & M. Price (PCMLP), http://www.ivir.nl/publications/mcgonagle/Minority-language%20broadcasting.pdf
Top of page
|
