Psychological peculiarities of language use among Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian languages

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Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Psychological peculiarities of language use among Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian languages

Ivan Danyliuk, Dr. of Psychology, Prof.

Sergiy Shykovets, post-graduate

The article presentsresults of the study and practical analysis of the phenomenon of the influence of ethnolinguistic identity on the formation of the language image, as well as the psychological well-being and personal health of Ukrainian-speaking and Russianspeaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland. The article attempts to reveal the value of the welcoming status of linguistic identity as a means to achieve the psychological well-being of a personality in a modern multicultural society. The prospects for studying the impact of ethnolinguistic identity and psychological well-being and the personal health of representatives of Ukrainian language communities and migrant groups with prediction of possible spheres of application of the obtained results are also described.

Keywords: ethnolinguistic identity, psychological components of ethnolinguistic identity, psychological well-being of personality, personality health, welcome status of ethnolinguistic identity, ethnolinguistic communities.

Психологічні особливості використання мови україномовними та російськомовними українськими мігрантами в Польщі

У статті наведено результати вивчення та практичного аналізу явища впливу етнолінгвістичної ідентичності на формування образу мови, а також психологічного благополуччя та здоров'я особистості україномовних та російськомовних українських мігрантів у Польщі. У статті була здійснена спроба розкрити значення вітального стану лінгвістичної ідентичності як засобу для досягнення психологічного благополуччя особистості в сучасному мультикультурному суспільстві. Також описано перспективи дослідження проблеми впливу етнолінгвістичної ідентичності та психологічного благополуччя та здоров'я особистості представників мовних спільнот України та груп мігрантів з прогнозуванням можливих сфер застосування отриманих результатів. Серед україномовних українських мігрантів у Польщі дискримінація / упередження Accult_stress; Мультикультурні відносини Accult_stress та мовний індекс Accult_stress здаються значно вищими, ніж серед російськомовних українських мігрантів у Польщі. У той самий час показники ізоляції Accult_stress та Accult_stress мають середній зміст і, схоже, схожі для обох груп українських мігрантів у Польщі. Ці результати служать основою для подальших досліджень психологічних особливостей використання мови з ширшим культурним контекстом та включення до вибірки як представників чоловічої, так і жіночої' статі. Результати дослідження можуть бути корисними в контексті реалізації програм психологічної' підтримки мігрантів. А також результати можуть бути вагомими для галузі етнічної, міжкультурної та політичної психології. Таким чином, суттєві відмінності індексу сили Групи показують, що україномовні мігранти як більш схильні оцінювати власну групу (мову, культурну, національну) як важливішу для них, ніж групи інших. Суттєві відмінності індексу сили мови показують, що україномовні мігранти як більш схильні оцінювати власну мову (також культурну та національну ідентичність) як важливішу для них, ніж мови та ідентичність інших. Суттєві відмінності індексу Collective Angst показують нам, що україномовні мігранти є більш схильними мати сильні емоції щодо власної' групи (культурної, національної) та виявляти повагу та турботу про неї як важливіші для них.

Ключові слова: етнолінгвістична ідентичність, психологічні складові етнолінгвістичної ідентичності, психологічне благополуччя особистості, здоров'я особистості, вітальний стан етнолінгвістичної ідентичності, етнолінгвістичні спільноти.

Психологические особенности использования языка украиноязычными и русскоязычными украинскими мигрантами в Польше

Приведены результаты изучения и практического анализа явления влияния этнолингвистической идентичности на формирование образа языка, а также психологического благополучия и здоровья личности украиноязычных и русскоязычных украинских мигрантов в Польше. Была предпринята попытка раскрыть значение приветственного состояния лингвистической идентичности как средства для достижения психологического благополучия личности в современном мультикультурном обществе. Также описаны перспективы исследования проблемы влияния этнолингвистической идентичности и психологического благополучия и здоровья личности представителей языковых сообществ Украины и групп мигрантов с прогнозированием возможных сфер применения полученных результатов.

Ключевые слова: этнолингвистическая идентичность, психологические составляющие этнолингвистической идентичности, психологическое благополучие личности, здоровье личности, приветственное состояние этнолингвистической идентичности, этнолингвистические сообщества.

Formulation of the problem

According to the 2012 Eurobarometer Report "Europeans and their languages”, within the European Union there are only twenty-three (twenty-four since 2013) officially recognized languages, but actually there are more than sixty (actually many more) indigenous regional and minority languages, as well as numerous non-indigenous languages spoken by migrant communities whose status remain entirely unrecognized and legally unprotected and whose continuity and intergenerational transmission are at high risk. This situation represents, in fact, the result of strong homogenization process in European recent history. The situation at the level of separate European states (for example Poland) is not much different. Historical, social, political, and geopolitical developments of the last sixty years have transformed Poland from a multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic society into one of the most homogenous nation-states in Europe. At the same time, the number of immigrants is increasing and will likely continue to do so in the future. Their economic impact cannot be overestimated, both in term of their productivity and the costs related to their physical and psychological health.

This multicultural and multilingual Europe needs to develop and implement wise strategies that successfully respond to the threats to its linguistic and cultural diversity as well as the challenges posed by linguistic mobility. Only by doing so, can it achieve a high level of general well-being and economic sustainability, while cultivating cultural and linguistic diversity, understood as a fundamental societal asset. The proposed project responds to these challenges, combining necessary research with the construction of practical solutions and recommendations aimed at applicability and socio- economicimpact.

There is a lack of awareness, at the state, societal, economic, and educational levels, of the broad and varied benefits of preserving linguistic-cultural diversity and promoting stable multilingualism; and this constitutes an obstacle to their applicability in these spheres. The advantages are linked to the human capacity for problem solving and creative thinking: "in the face of present-day economic and technological change, opening up vast prospects for creation and innovation, particular attention must be paid to the diversity of the supply of creative work" (UNESCO, 2002, p. 5).

Analysis of recent research and publications

Abroadscopeofpsycholinguisticresearchhas shown that bilingual children and adults have expanded cognitive potential, reflected in greater flexibility and capacity for task-solving and in higher intellectual and social skills (Bialystok, 1999, 2001; Bialystok & Martin, 2004;

Bialystok & Senman, 2004; Costa, Hernandez & Sebastian-Galles, 2008). The use of more than one language in children as young as two years, seems to be crucial in enhancing the executive control responsible for the selection and utilization of the data necessary to solve problems and achieve goals (Poulin-Dubois et al., 2011, p. 567-579). It also offers significant advantages to the elderly, hindering cognitive decline and possibly delaying the onset of symptoms of dementia (Bialystok, Craik & Luk 2012, p. 240-250). Minority children going through immersion education in their mother tongue always match or surpass their peers participating in programs based on the usage of a dominant language, both in classroom performance and standardized testing; in posterior academic education they tend to show much better results (Hinton, 2011, p. 298-299; Hermes, Bang, & Marin, 2012, p. 387; McCarty, 2003, p. 151-157).

Research suggests that language revitalization and the use of the mother tongue throughout the stagesofan individual's development are not only closely linked to improvements in psychological well-beingand higher self-esteem, but also to higher indexes of health; there appears to be a strong correlation between language loss, deterioration in indigenous health, symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress, and elevated suicide rates (e.g. Chandler & Lalonde, 1998; Mclvor, Napoleon, & Dickie, 2009; Ball & Moselle, 2013). Heritage languages play an important protective role in addressing health crises and lowering behavioral risk factors (Hallet, 2007; Robbins & Dewar, 2011; Oster et al., 2014). We propose that the mechanism of these kinds of positive changes is the so-called "social cure"; it is known that affirmation of one's social identity improves psychological well-being and allows one to deal with stress, illness and trauma (Haslam, Jetten, & Haslam 2011). Furthermore, improvement in health indexes hassignificant economic consequences.

The purpose of the article is to study the phenomenon of the influence of ethnolinguistic identity on the language use as an aspect of psychological well-being and personal health on the basis of the analysis of experience of Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland.

Presenting main material

As a result of empirical research, we have studied the psychological peculiarities of language use of Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language.

As a result of a data analysis on the basis of the description of statistics, we have described the general situation in the psychological sphere of language use among Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language.

Thus, in the field of ethno-linguistic vitality when comparing the representations of the Ukrainian and Russian speaking Ukrainian migrants, we obtained some significant differences. Here we briefly summarize them.

The calculation of the Group strength index followed by a comparative analysis of the statistical significance of the index differences between these speakers using the Student t-criterion gave the results that are shown in the T able 1.

Table 1

The comparison of Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language' Group strength index

As it can be seen from the Table 1, among the Ukrainian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland the Group strength index seems to be significantly higher than among the Russian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland.

The calculation of the Language strength index followed by a comparative analysis of the statistical significance of the index differences between these speakers using the Student t-criterion gave the results that are shown in the Table 2.

psychological language ukrainian migrants

Table 2

The comparison of Ukrainian migrants, in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language' Language strength index

As it can be seen from the Table 2, among the Ukrainian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland the Language strength index seems to be significantly higher than among the Russian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland.

The calculation of the Collective Angst index followed by a comparative analysis of the statistical significance of the index differences between these speakers using the Student t-criterion gave the results that are shown in the Table 3.

Table 3

The comparison of Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language' Collective Angst index

As it can be seen from the Table 3, among the Ukrainian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland the Collective Angst index seems to be significantly higher than among the Russian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland.

The calculation of the Linguistic Angst index followed by a comparative analysis of the statistical significance of the index differences between these speakers using the Student t-criterion gave the results that are shown in the Table 4.

Table 4

The comparison of Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language' Linguistic Angst index

As it can be seen from the Table 4, among the Ukrainian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland the Linguistic Angst index seems to be significantly higher than among the Russian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland.

The calculation of the Acculturational stress in a for acculturational stress indexes for discrimination/prejudice; multi-cultural relations; isolation; work; language followed by a comparative analysis of the statistical significance of the index differences between these speakers using the Students' t-criterion gave the results that are shown in the Table 5.

Table 5

The comparison of Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language' Accult stress index

As it can be seen from the Table 5, among the Ukrainian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland the Accult_stress discrimination/prejudice; Accult_stress multicultural relations and Accult_stress language index seems to be significantly higher than among the Russian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland. In the same time the Accult_stress isolation and Accult_stress work indexes are medium in meaning and seem to be similar fot both groups of Ukrainian migrants in Poland.

Conclusions and prospects of the research

In the duration of the research, we analyzed the the psychological peculiarities of language use of Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language. The results show us significant differences among those two groups of respondents in the field of ethnolinguistic vitality and psychological well-being.

Thus significant differences of the Group strength index show us Ukrainian speaking migrants as more inclined to apprise own group (language, cultural, national) as more important for them than the groups of others.

Significant differences of the Language strength index show us Ukrainian speaking migrants as more inclined to apprise own language (also cultural and national identity) as more important for them than the languages and identities of others.

Significant differences of the Collective Angst index show us Ukrainian speaking migrants as more inclined to have strong emotions about own group (cultural, national) and to show respect and care about it as more important for them.

Significant differences of the Linguistic Angst index show us Ukrainian speaking migrants as more inclined to have strong emotions about own language and to show respect and care about it as more important for them.

Also these facts might suggest that Ukrainian identity of Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian language is under more intensive pressure than the Ukrainian identity of Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Russian language.

This fact gives us more reasons for th efurther analysis of identity differences among Ukrainian migrants in Poland speaking Ukrainian and Russian language.

Among the Ukrainian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland the Accult_stress discrimination/prejudice; Accult_stress multi-cultural relations and Accult_stress language index seems to be significantly higher than among the Russian speaking Ukrainian migrants in Poland. In the same time the Accult_stress isolation and Accult_stress work indexes are medium in meaning and seem to be similar fot both groups of Ukrainian migrants in Poland.

These results provide the basis for further researches on the psychological peculiarities of language use with a wider cultural context and inclusion into a sample both male and female representatives. The results of the research may be useful in the context of an implementation of the programs of psychological support for migrants. And also the results may be significant for the field of ethnic, cross-cultural and political psychology.

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