LANGUAGE AS A COMPONENT OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF NATIONAL SECURITY

Abstract

During the encroachment of the aggressor on the sovereign Ukraine’s territory, the issue of state security is one of the most pressing. Language as a component of national identity is a key factor directly affecting national security. A high level of national identity, the development and functioning of Ukrainian as a unified state language affects the formation of the integrity of the state. The purpose of the study is to reveal the role of the Ukrainian language in the processes of formation of national identity, the Ukrainian nation in general in the context of national security. By analyzing the statistical data of surveys conducted by the Razumkov Center, the Ilko Kucheriv Foundation “Democratic Initiatives” and others, the current state of the development of the Ukrainian nation was clarified; the factors that determine and shape the national identity of Ukrainians are analyzed; language is outlined as a key factor of a unified nation in the context of national security. In the process of forming the nation’s ethnic identity, the question of the nation itself is important, based on the people’s conscious perception of their individuality, development and awareness of their own values, primarily language, as a key factor of national identity. It is language that provides a clear identification of «own»/ «other» in various spheres of life. The gradual separation from the Soviet ideology and consumption of its cultural values, in particular the Russian language, is noticeable. The key factor in these processes is socio-political, namely the full-scale invasion of the aggressor on the territory of Ukraine. The function of language during the war became almost the most important factor in distinguishing between “own” and “foreign” and prompted some Ukrainians, in particular in Russian-speaking regions, to switch to the Ukrainian language. Moreover, Ukrainians do not want to use any other language at the legislative level, even regionally, except for the unified state Ukrainian. Changes during the last year (2021–2022) are particularly noticeable, i.e. language is perceived as a factor that forms not only national identity, but also a guarantor of the integrity of the state.