The Belarusian Language Should Be the Only State Language of the Republic of Belarus
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The Republic of Belarus is an independent state with population of 9.5 million people, 53.2% of whom admit the Belarusian language as their mother tongue. However, 70.2% of the population use Russian in everyday communication and cannot speak Belarusian fluently (National Statistical Committee, n.d.). The phenomenon is caused by the formal existence of two state languages, Belarusian and Russian, whereas in reality the Russian language dominates in all spheres of life in the country. For instance, higher education programs and official documentation are available only in Russian. Because having two state languages led to the loss of common goals for the nation , risk of losing sovereignty  and lack of respect from international community , there should be only one state language in Belarus, Belarusian.
If the Belarusian language is the only state language of the republic, people within Belarusian society will be more united in their aims to benefit the motherland. Now, when the language of higher education is Russian and, as a result, from earliest childhood Belarusians pay more attention to studying Russian to succeed in the future, the Belarusian language is disrespected. The language, which has been the vernacular on this territory for many centuries, nowadays isn’t even learnt properly and isn’t spoken by the majority of the population. Therefore, people stop reading Belarusian classics and lose interest in the history of the country. Because of that they don’t feel attached to the culture created in their language and don’t feel proud of their historical heritage. Thus, people are not united by the feeling of national honour and understanding of common background.
Lack of unity has a bad influence on social and econ...
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... changes are implemented, other countries will respect and support Belarus for being able to get rid of Russia’s powerful influence.
As giving back the lost power to the Belarusian language will make relationships with other countries better, support an independent status of the state and strengthen Belarusians’ attachment to the country and the nation, the Belarusian language should become the only state language of the Republic of Belarus in the closest future. The first possible step is to translate the school program into Belarusian because if young generations of Belarusians are raised in their mother tongue, they will use it in their everyday life when they grow up.
National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus. (n.d.). Population Census 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2012, from http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/perepic/2009/itogi1.php