Shifts in digital media usage before and after the pandemic by Rusyns in Ukraine

The COVID-19 pandemic touched every corner of the globe, even impacting the sphere of linguistics in terms of communication, lexis, and how linguists conduct their research. However, Rusyn, a minority language in Ukraine’s Transcarpathian region, took advantage of this period in a new attempt at revitalization. Rusyn is spoken in several European countries and has the privilege of being recognized and protected in most of them. Ukraine does not, however, consider Rusyn to be a language, and, therefore, does not protect it. There have been several movements for recognition and autonomy in the past, but all have been unsuccessful. The pandemic gave this small community of speakers a new chance to elevate their work towards boosting the language’s vitality and status through digital platforms such as YouTube and collective writing projects. This paper looks at the before-and-after of the pandemic in relation to Rusyn in Transcarpathia, focusing on the shift in digital approaches to protecting and promoting the language. It concludes that, in fact, a shift has occurred in terms of utilizing digital media in order to promote the language.