Belarusian Language Policy Studies

Belarus is a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual country.The diversity and complexity of its ethnics and languages led to different development trends of language policies in different periods.From the perspective of the language situation in Belarus,the most important feature is the coexistence of the two official languages-Russian and Belarusian,and the relationship between the two languages depends on various factors such as social stratification,national history,geopolitics,and cultural level of residents.By combing the language policies of different periods,it can be seen that the language policy of Belarus is roughly divided into two directions: Russification and Belarusization.In different periods,either Russian is in the upper hand,or Belarusian is in the dominant position.The formulation and implementation of the Belarusian language policy mainly considers the specific language situation of Belarus,the value of the Belarusian and the influence of Russia.From the perspective of sociolinguistics,this paper first elaborates the definition of language policy and relevant research status,then traces the historical development of Belarusian language policy,and finally analyzes and prospects contemporary Belarusian language policy.