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Lower-case russia: Decapitalization, neologisms and mock Russian as wartime resistance in Ukraine

Data publikacji: 20.02.2026

Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 2026, Volume 143, Issue 1, s. 9-25

https://doi.org/10.4467/20834624SL.26.002.23149

Autorzy

Petro Katerynych
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5967-2368 Orcid
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Tytuły

Lower-case russia: Decapitalization, neologisms and mock Russian as wartime resistance in Ukraine

Abstrakt

This article traces three wartime speech practices – decapitalization, derogatory neologisms (rusnia, rashyzm), and “Mock Russian” spellings – that Ukrainians deploy to demote the aggressor symbolically. We analyze five sub-corpora totalling ≈ 179.3 million tokens (incl. 2.1 million tweets, ~ 34 M tokens) gathered between February 2022 and December 2024. Lower-case росія/путін overtook canonical spellings within six weeks of the full-scale invasion, while the share of novel slurs in Russia-referencing vocabulary rose from < 5% pre-invasion to ≈ 35–39% by late 2024 (with an early-2022 surge). Mixed-script parodies further recast Russian as linguistically defective. We argue that these graphic and lexical moves function as de-colonial speech acts that renegotiate linguistic hierarchy in real time. The study provides a data-driven model for tracking symbolic power shifts in conflict zones and extends post-colonial sociolinguistics to the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Oświadczenie o dostępności/źródle danych

Data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Image exemplars cited in this article are discoverable via the SUCHO Meme Wall.

Bibliografia

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Informacje

Informacje: Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 2026, Volume 143, Issue 1, s. 9-25

Typ artykułu: Oryginalny artykuł naukowy

Autorzy

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5967-2368

Petro Katerynych
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5967-2368 Orcid
Kontakt z autorem
Wszystkie publikacje autora →

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Publikacja: 20.02.2026

Status artykułu: Otwarte __T_UNLOCK

Licencja: CC BY 4.0  ikona licencji

Finansowanie artykułu:

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine under grant number 25БП013–01М (2025–2027).

Udział procentowy autorów:

Petro Katerynych (Autor) - 100%

Korekty artykułu:

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Języki publikacji:

Angielski

Lower-case russia: Decapitalization, neologisms and mock Russian as wartime resistance in Ukraine

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