Armenian community in Cherkassy oblast in the context of the problem of language identity (1990s – beginning of the 21st century)

Анотація

The author studies the problem of language identity of Armenians who lived on the territory of Cherkassy oblast during the last decades of the 20th century (since the end of 1980s). The conducted analysis shows that language assimilation processes in Cherkashchyna encompassed first of all the Armenians of rural area. This was not characteristic for all Ukraine in the newest history. In a broader context it concerns the not fully studied processes of the newest adaptation and assimilation of the Armenian population in the Ukrainian ethnocultural environment. In this paper the main aspects of this problem have been described. The author did not restrict her research to Cherkassy oblast, she also made solid comparing characteristics. As a result not only regional but also some all-Ukrainian peculiarities and dynamics of language-identity transformations have been clarified (in Kiev and Poltava regions this tendency had significant peculiarities). On the whole the representatives of the Armenian community managed to preserve their national identity.