Are there two linguistic norms in contemporary Belarusian?

Abstract

The article answers the question whether there are two separate linguistic norms in the modern Belarusian language. On the basis of grammars, dictionaries, textbooks, educational programs and scientific articles, the author highlights the differences between the two sets of spelling rules operating in contemporary Belarusian, discusses opposing tendencies in the method of assimilation of loanwords, presents variants of grammatical endings, describes separate word-formation models and highlights the differences in lexis and syntactic structures. In this way, he proves the presence of two separate linguistic norms in the modern Belarusian language. The first: official – in accordance with the so-called narkamauka, i.e. the rules presented in current textbooks on spelling and grammar of the Belarusian language, which draws many lexical, word-formation and syntactic patterns from the Russian language, and the second norm: purist - based on the so-called tarashkievica, i.e. spelling rules introduced by Bronisław Taraszkiewicz in a textbook published in 1918 in Vilnius. At the end of the article, the author shares with the reader her own reflections on the possibility of unifying the Belarusian norms in the future.