Rethinking the Graphization of the Belarusian Language in Eastern and Western Belarus During the Interwar Period*

This article examines the graphization of the modern Belarusian literary language, focusing on the problem of the choice of script during the interwar period. Specifically, it examines the script used in Belarusian and the metalinguistic discourse on script choice in Eastern and Western Belarus. The situation in East Belarus is investigated with reference to the proceedings of the Academic Conference on the Reform of Belarusian Orthography and Alphabet convened in Minsk in 1926, while that of West Belarus is examined through articles in the Belarusian newspaper Krynica. The study of these materials revealed the following: in East Belarus, discussion on the choice of script centered around the assumption that a single alphabet ought to be chosen. In contrast, in West Belarus, where the use of the Latin alphabet for writing Belarusian continued, any explicit confrontations with the supporters of the Cyrillic alphabet were carefully avoided.