Belarusian Between Polish and Russian: Language, History and Identity

Guest lecturer Radosław Kaleta (University of Warsaw) explores the historical development of Belarusian in relation to Polish and Russian, tracing the political, cultural and social influences that have shaped the language over time. From the multilingual legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the region’s evolving linguistic traditions, Dr. Kaleta will examine how Belarusian shares features with other Slavic languages while retaining its own distinctive vocabulary, pronunciation and cultural expressions. The lecture will also consider the contemporary linguistic landscape of Belarus and the role of language in shaping cultural identity. Open to anyone interested in languages, history and Eastern European cultures, this lecture offers an engaging introduction to the connections and distinctions among Belarusian, Polish and Russian.