Lower-case russia: Decapitalization, neologisms and mock Russian as wartime resistance in Ukraine
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RIS BIB ENDNOTEData publikacji: 20.02.2026
Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 2026, Volume 143, Issue 1, s. 9-25
https://doi.org/10.4467/20834624SL.26.002.23149Autorzy
Lower-case russia: Decapitalization, neologisms and mock Russian as wartime resistance in Ukraine
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.
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.
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Informacje: Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 2026, Volume 143, Issue 1, s. 9-25
Typ artykułu: Oryginalny artykuł naukowy
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Publikacja: 20.02.2026
Status artykułu: Otwarte
Licencja: CC BY 4.0
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AngielskiLiczba wyświetleń: 84
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