The article deals with an oral speech phenomenon widespread in the Republic of Belarus, where it is known as trasjanka. This code originated through constant contact between Russian and Belarusian, two closely related East Slavonic languages. Discussed are the main features of this code (as used in the city of Minsk), the sources of its origin, different linguistic definitions and the attitude towards this code from those who dwell in the city of Minsk. Special attention is paid to the problem of distinction between trasjanka and different forms of codeswitching, also widely used in the Minsk language community. © 2009 the Author/s.

Belarusian Closely related language contacts Language attitude russian Trasjanka

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