August 15, 2025Open Access

When the ‘language of the enemy’ is also one’s own: re-making multilingual selves in times of war

Key Points

Language choice vividly impacts individual identity amid conflict, leading to shifts in self-perception and community belonging.
The preference for Ukrainian over Russian has been linked to acts of resistance during the ongoing war, emphasizing a national identity shift.
Through a qualitative analysis of familial language practices, the paper uncovers the emotional and ideological layers of communication in tense contexts.
The findings suggest that language acts as both a tool of remembrance and a potential source of grief, pointing to the deep interconnection between language and personal experience.

Abstract

This paper explores the interplay between the embodied affective dimensions of language choice, reported linguistic behaviour, and the competing ideologies rooted in family language practices, communicative memory, and discourses of (in)securitisation in the context of Russia's war in Ukraine. The shift in language policy to favour the use of Ukrainian over Russian, even by the Russophone citizens of Ukraine, is often framed as a form of resistance to the Russian military aggressions. In this paper it is considered as an act of 'sharp communication', at times resulting in conflicting selfhoods, and at times contributing to the possibilities of articulating grief.

When the ‘language of the enemy’ is also one’s own: re-making multilingual selves in times of war

Key Points

Abstract

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