Dynamics of the post-Yugoslav and Ukrainian language landscape in the context of information warfare: translation strategies in the context of cultural identification

Abstract

Following the disintegration of Yugoslavia, language issues became one of the most contentious aspects of forming new national identities. The division of Serbo-Croatian into several separate languages, such as Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin reflects efforts towards national self-determination of five separate regions (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia-Slovenia). In Ukraine, otherwise, the language issue became central in the context of state sovereignty, especially after the annexation of Crimea and the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine. Both regions approached the matter of legal regulation of language, establishing prerequisites for the protection and promotion of the state language, which plays a major role in the processes of national consolidation. Present-day, the predominance of the informational component in human activity over all its other forms has become evident. The rapid spread of new digital, electronic and computer technologies, especially the widespread dominance of internet resources is becoming progressively noteworthy in the information war. In the common global environment, we can observe the intensive development of information warfare tools in Internet-based mass media. Post-Yugoslav and Ukrainian researchers cite such examples of information warfare tools: disinformation and manipulation, propaganda, attempts to change public opinion, psychological and psychotropic pressure, spreading rumors, blocking television and radio broadcasts, removing national minority channels from the air, spreading pseudo-news, spreading fake information.