Journal of Foreign Language Research

Journal of Foreign Language Research

Surzhyk in Ukraine: Linguistic Hybridity, Social Attitudes, and Postcolonial Resistance A critical review of recent scholarship (2000–2024)

Document Type : research article

Authors
farzaneh fakhrian
Azita Abbasi
Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22059/jflr.2026.408879.1275
Abstract
This article provides a comprehensive review of contemporary scholarship on Surzhyk, the Ukrainian-Russian mixed code, examining its role within Ukraine’s postcolonial trajectory, wartime identity transformation, and complex sociolinguistic diversity. Drawing on 17 recent peer-reviewed studies and dissertations, it analyzes Surzhyk’s structural features, regional and generational variations, symbolic and ideological dimensions, and evolving public attitudes. The review integrates linguistic, sociological, and computational perspectives to demonstrate how Surzhyk operates both as a communicative strategy and as a site of ideological negotiation, reflecting speakers’ agency and adaptive practices. The paper argues for a reevaluation of Surzhyk not as a degraded or chaotic hybrid but as a dynamic, strategic, and ideologically charged linguistic phenomenon reflecting Ukraine’s complex historical and geopolitical reality. It also explores the implications of computational modeling for Surzhyk in digital linguistics and highlights its emerging role in Ukraine’s broader efforts toward linguistic decolonization, cultural resilience, and the affirmation of hybrid identities. In doing so, the article situates Surzhyk within wider debates on language standardization, linguistic stigma, and the politics of authenticity in post-imperial contexts. It further considers how recent sociopolitical shifts, particularly after 2014 and 2022, have intensified the symbolic stakes of mixed speech and reshaped the relationship between language choice and national belonging. By synthesizing findings across disciplines, the review identifies key tensions between prescriptive language ideologies and everyday communicative realities, while outlining directions for future research on Surzhyk in education, media discourse, and digital communication.
Keywords
Surzhyk
Mixed language
Bilingualism
Postcolonial linguistics
Language ideology
Subjects
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Journal of Foreign Language Research
Volume 16, Issue 2
Summer 2026
Pages 259-271