Postcolonial linguistic features in Central Europe

Abstract

The present paper gives an overview of the linguistic situation in Central Europe. The investigation focuses on the features of language, in particular on the social, cultural and political power factors of the languages used in the region, and the relations between them.
The linguistic situation is described in two historical periods: one is the Soviet colonial era between 1945 and 1990, the other one is the postcolonial period after 1990. The historical developments have had an elemental effect on the communication and linguistic systems of the region. The Soviet colonial rule introduced a hierarchical and centralised communication system with strict communist party control of ideology, ways of thinking and ways of talk, apparent everywhere from public opinion to the private sphere. Censorship was a powerful tool in the region. In 1990 the situation turned into its polar opposite in most cases. A heterarchical, decentralised communication system was built, with freedom of speech and human rights in general in focus. This radical change resulted in linguistic plurality, the acknowledgment of and reflections on variability in language, its functions for adequate conceptual construal, linguistic expression, individual and group identity.