Belarusian in Lithuania

Speakers

28,183

Type

Location

Belarusian in Lithuania

Country

Information available

1. Basics

Names

Belarusian in Lithuania

Size

28,183

2. Status

Status

  • Official country wide language
  • Official regional language
  • Official minority language
  • Recognised community language
  • Unrecognised community language
National language
No
Indigenous language
No
Administrative units of the country
towns of Vilnius, Klaipėda, Kaunas, Visaginas; cross-border territory with Belarus

3. State

Documentation: materials

Written

  • Extended corpora
  • Annotated corpora
  • Corpus/corpora
  • Materials/corpus
  • Some materials
  • No materials
Digital
Yes

divider

Video

  • Extended corpora
  • Annotated corpora
  • Corpus/corpora
  • Materials/corpus
  • Some materials
  • No materials
Digital
Yes

divider

Audio

  • Extended corpora
  • Annotated corpora
  • Corpus/corpora
  • Materials/corpus
  • Some materials
  • No materials
Digital
Yes

divider

Documentation: descriptions

  • Elaborated dictionaries, grammars, statistical language models, etc.
  • Dictionaries and grammars
  • Dictionary and grammar
  • Glossary and descriptions
  • Few descriptions
  • No descriptions
Digital
Yes

Standardization

  • Modern standard language
  • Young standard language
  • Standardised language
  • Quasi-standard language
  • Semi-standardised language
  • Un-standardised language

Graphisation & script encoding

  • Standardised writing system with full script encoding
  • Conventionalised writing system with partial script encoding
  • Consistent writing system with no script encoding
  • Unsystematic writing system(s)
  • Limited written use
  • No written use

4. Users

Geographical distribution

  • Users live and dominate in all regions of the country
  • Users live in one [state/...] of the country
  • Users live in a cross-border region [state/...] of the country
  • Users live in separated [states/...] of the country
  • Users live dispersed across one [state/...] of the country
  • Users live scattered all over the country

Settlements

  • Rural
  • Urban
Administrative units of the country
Town of Vilnius, Vilnius district, border territory along Belarus

Size / Number of users

Number of users

28183
Source
Population census
Year
2021

Users within total population

1.00000
Less than 10% use the language

PROPORTION

1
Source
Population census
Year
2021

Users within the reference community

Less than 50% use the language
Actual percentage
22
Source
Population census
Year
2021
Comments
Belarusians considering Belarusian as their mother tongue

Age distribution of users

1,427
5
percentage of members of young generations (< 15)
Source

Population census

Year
2021

Age distribution of users

16,377
58
percentage of members of middle generations (15-65)
Source

Population census

Year
2021

Age distribution of users

10,384
37
percentage of members of older generations (> 65)
Source

Population census

Year
2021

Generational use

22
22
6,293
All generations
Source

Population census

Year
2021
Comments

There is no accurate data, but 22,3 % of Belarusians consider Belarusian as their mother tongue.
Data are not disaggregated by gender

Educational attainment

1
1
174
Early childhood education
Source

Population census

Year
2021
4
6
1,474
Primary education
Source

Population census

Year
2021
15
13
3,750
Lower secondary education
Source

Population census

Year
2021
61
60
16,409
Higher secondary education
Source

Population census

Year
2021
19
20
5,347
Tertiary education
Source

Population census

Year
2021

Occupational qualifications

31
69
2,185
Elementary occupations
Source

Population census

Year
2021
81
19
1,568
Plant and machine operators and assemblers
Source

Population census

Year
2021
75
25
2,148
Craft and related trades workers
Source

Population census

Year
2021
51
49
89
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers
Source

Population census

Year
2021
21
79
1,856
Services and sales workers
Source

Population census

Year
2021
28
72
532
Clerical support workers
Source

Population census

Year
2021
49
51
762
Technicians and associate professionals
Source

Population census

Year
2021
29
71
2,313
Professionals
Source

Population census

Year
2021
59
41
919
Managers
Source

Population census

Year
2021

Language competence

100
100
6,293
Understand all, speak/sign well
Comments

Belarusians who consider Belarusian as their mother tongue

Year
2021
Source

Population census

Literacy of users

100
100
(Almost) 100 % of users with literacy in the language
Actual percentage
100

Digital use

7
87
More than 50% digital users of the language
Actual percentage
87
Source

Information Society Development in Lithuania

Year
2021
Comments

Data not disaggregated by nationality and gender

5. Use

Socio-geographic dimension

Geographic scope
  • International
  • Supranational
  • Cross-border (states)
  • State-wide
  • Supra-regional cross-border
  • Supra-regional
  • Regional cross-border
  • Regional
  • Local
Source
towns of Vilnius, Klaipėda, Kaunas, Visaginas; cross-border territory with Belarus

Economic dimension

Functional dimension

Functional scope
  • Public domains
  • Everyday domains
  • Private domains
Nature
equal
Functional scope
  • Public domains
  • Everyday domains
  • Private domains
Nature
equal
Functional scope
  • Public domains
  • Everyday domains
  • Private domains
Nature
exclusive

Functional use in administration

Language use in administration
  • International level
  • National level
  • Regional level
  • Local level
  • Auxiliary use
  • No use

Types of language use

  • signed / spoken use
  • written use
  • digital use
Comments
Submission of complaints and requests to municipal administrations

Ethnoculture

Formal Education

Early childhood education
Type of language use in education
  • Medium of instruction
  • Immersion teaching
  • Teaching subject
  • Occasionally used
  • Symbolically used
Comments
Pranciškus Skorina school has been operating in Vilnius since 1994. In 2013, this school was reorganised into Vilnius Pranciškus Skorina Gymnasium. The number of Belarusian-language students ranges from 150 to 200 in different years. There are two Belarusian Sunday schools: Sunday school “Krynička” in Klaipėda and National Communities Centre “Gimtoji mokykla” in Visaginas.
Primary level
Type of language use in education
  • Medium of instruction
  • Immersion teaching
  • Teaching subject
  • Occasionally used
  • Symbolically used
Comments
Vilnius Pranciškus Skorina Gymnasium
Lower secondary level
Type of language use in education
  • Medium of instruction
  • Immersion teaching
  • Teaching subject
  • Occasionally used
  • Symbolically used
Comments
Vilnius Pranciškus Skorina Gymnasium
Higher secondary level
Tertiary level
Type of language use in education
  • Medium of instruction
  • Immersion teaching
  • Teaching subject
  • Occasionally used
  • Symbolically used
Comments
European Humanities University in Vilnius, ~800 students

Public healthcare

Information, communication and cultural production

  • Information services
  • Broadcasting
  • Video, film
  • Sound/music recording
  • Publishing activities
  • Language not used

Legal system

Language use in the legal system
  • General use
  • Legal transactions
  • Court proceedings
  • Written submissions
  • Spoken/signed testimonies
  • Language not used

Areas of law the language is used

  • Criminal law
  • Civil law
  • Administrative law

Completion