In Search of Digital Linguistic Justice? Ukrainian Language in the Polish New Media Sphere After February 24, 2022
摘要
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has triggered significant demographic shifts. As a result, millions of Ukrainians have left their country, seeking security and safety for themselves and their families. A large number of war refugees came to Poland. They needed material support but also adequate information on new conditions for their lives. Polish new media tried to address the situation by delivering practical content. Often, they were producing it in Ukrainian but not in Russian. However, among people arriving in Poland after February 24, 2022, we could easily meet speakers of (1) only Ukrainian, (2) only Russian, and (3) Ukrainian and Russian. These facts inspire questions about how the Polish new media sector understood concepts of digital justice amidst a major humanitarian crisis. The paper examines this issue in three conceptual dimensions proposed by Kenneth Burke in his “Rhetoric of Motives.” Consequently, the positive, dialectical, and ultimate meanings of the Polish electronic media’s actions are exposed. In the text, a couple of questions have been addressed: (1) What ideas on digital linguistic justice were manifested by the presence of the Ukrainian language and the absence of the Russian language in the Polish new media sphere? (2) Were the presence of Ukrainian and the absence of Russian embedded in a coherent strategy when addressing the needs of Ukrainian refugees? (3) What could inspire attitudes among the new media providers involved in the process? (4) What were the main principles of their engagement? (5) To what extent did influential pre-war opinions on digital linguistic justice remain valid in Central and Eastern Europe after February 24, 2022 ?