Articles and Book Chapters (peer-reviewed)
(Forthcoming) Language typology as a discursive affordance in digital discourse: the case of the “camouflaged German option” online. In: KhosraviNik, Majid (ed.), Digital Discourse and Society: Integrating the Digital with the Political. John Benjamins.
Abstract. With the rapid development of participatory social media, these spaces have become new arenas for producing political discourse. However, critical analyses of digital discourse that examine the importance of language typological variation for the (re)production of political discourse are relatively new. This chapter investigates linguistic creativity in non-elite political communication by combining a critical discursive approach with language typology. The analysis highlights the importance of language typology in political communication as political actors exploit the typological affordances of Polish. This chapter demonstrates how language affordances are mobilised for political reasons to (re)produce discriminatory political messages. The chapter suggests combining critical discourse analysis and language typology to reveal novel perspectives on the intersection of language and politics on the Internet.
(2023) Poland under Martial Law in Netflix’s 1983 as a Critique of Contemporary Polish Socio-Politics: An Intertextual Analysis. Studies in Eastern European Cinema [online first]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2040350X.2023.2170735
Abstract. The article presents an intertextual analysis of the first Polish Netflix-original series 1983 created and written by Joshua Long. The series portrays fictional, dystopian Poland as a totalitarian state in which martial law never ended and the communist party remains in power. The analysis uses pivotal events from the series to draw connections between fictional Poland under martial law and post-2015 Poland ruled by the Law and Justice party. Close critical analysis and comparison of political discourse and visual imagery reveal how the socio-political situation in Netflix’s 1983 echoes real-world concerns about contemporary Polish socio-politics. The series functions as an intertextual commentary on post-2015 Poland, in which the Law and Justice government’s actions revived existing memories of civil protests and state oppression under martial law in communist Poland.
(2022) Research Trends in Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis in the Field of Slavic Linguistics. Slavia Centralis 15 (2): 45–77. (with Renee Perelmutter) PDF: https://journals.um.si/index.php/slaviacentralis/article/view/2448.
Abstract. This article surveys recent trends and directions in pragmatics and discourse analysis-related research of Slavic languages. Within the subfield of pragmatics, the article surveys studies of facework / (im)politeness, hate speech, speech acts, and pragmatics of emotions. The discourse analysis section surveys such topics as discourse markers, bilingualism, deixis, evidentiality and stance, humor, turn-taking, and critical discourse analysis (CDA) / critical discourse studies (CDS). The article also outlines areas in need of more research for Slavists – these include facework and power in institutional contexts, pragmatics and L2 learning of Slavic languages, and bilingual/multilingual discourse and pragmatics.
(2018) The Folk Linguistics of Silesian in Poland. In: Stephen M. Dickey and Mark Richard Lauersdorf (eds.), V zeleni drželi zeleni breg: Studies in Honor of Marc L. Greenberg. Bloomington: Slavica Publishers, 15–35. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/2453669.
Abstract. This paper examines folk linguistic beliefs about what is and/or what makes a language in contemporary Poland by looking at an online conversation about the Silesian variety, traditionally classified as one of the main dialects of the Polish language. Using a folk linguistic approach, the present study analyzes metalinguistic talk in an online discussion forum from the perspective of standard language ideology. The analysis discusses a range of language concerns expressed by nonexperts who either support or reject the idea of Silesian as a separate language. The results suggest that discussants draw from a standard language ideology as they introduce and defend their positions in the debate, which implies that present-day Poland represents an example of a standard language culture.
(2017) Slavic Dialectology: A Survey of Research Since 1989. Journal of Slavic Linguistics 25 (2): 303–336. (with Marc L. Greenberg, Joseph Schallert, and Curt F. Woolhiser). PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/1808/26247.
Abstract. The last 25 years in Slavic dialectology mark the period not only of JSL’s founding but also of major and multiple political, social, and economic reorganizations in predominantly Slavic-speaking states. During this period research institutions and their priorities and projects have both continued and changed; technological innovation has meant moving towards electronic dissemination, “digital humanities,” and innovative modes of presenting research data and findings. In some cases, major works (e.g., dialect atlases) have advanced during this period. Moreover, a new generation of scholars has had greater opportunities for mobility and therefore exposure to a variety of linguistic frameworks and approaches, which has fostered cross-border collaboration in the field. The present essay gives an overview of progress made on dialect projects both created institutionally and individually and including both traditional (book, article) and new digital means of dissemination.
(2015) O języku literackim molizańskich Słowian [On the Molise Slavic Literary Standard]. Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne 8: 23–36. PDF: http://dx.doi.org/10.14746/pss.2015.8.1.
Abstract. This article aims to present and describe the situation of the literary language of the Molise Slavs. In the last decades, various scholars have expressed their views on this issue with some of them claiming that Molise Slavic is a literary language, whilst others this vernacular was denied such a right. Although Alexandr D. Dulichenko – who coined the term „Slavic literary microlanguage” – dated its literary traditions back to the 19th century, some scholars perceive the 18th or 20th centuries as the beginning of the literature written in Molise Slavic (MSl). Consequently, this led to an ambiguity that this article is trying to clarify. Until recently, this vernacular was prevalently used for poetry and short prose, but with recent publications of Nicola Gliosca’s novels, Molise Slavic is now on its way to developing as a full-fledged literary language. According to the typology presented by Antoni Furdal, MSl can now – with the presence of translations – be classified as a „literary language with limited sphere of use”.
Encyclopedia Entries
(2023) Critical Discourse Analysis. In: Greenberg, Marc L. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Slavic Languages and Linguistics. Brill. https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-slavic-languages-and-linguistics-online/critical-discourse-analysis-COM_036365.
Abstract. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is a theoretical and methodological perspective used within the area of critical discourse studies (CDS). In the Slavic context, CDA-informed research represents a diverse and interdisciplinary body of work that tackles multiple topics and applies some of the best-known theoretical frameworks. This article introduces CDA as an approach within the larger enterprise of CDS, identifies some of the most common topical clusters within Slavic CDA work, and presents selected studies engaging with Slavic-language data or authored by CDA practitioners based in Slavic-speaking countries.
(2020) Slavic Languages in the European Union. In: Greenberg, Marc L. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Slavic Languages and Linguistics. Brill. https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-slavic-languages-and-linguistics-online/*-COM_036030.
Abstract. As of early 2020, six Slavic languages enjoy the offıcial status in the European Union (EU): Bulgarian (since 2007), Croatian (since 2013), Czech (since 2004), Polish (since 2004), Slovak (since 2004), and Slovene (since 2004). As offıcial EU languages, Slavic languages numerically rank behind Romance and Germanic languages. Polish and Russian are the two most commonly used Slavic languages in the EU. In terms of native speakers, Polish (with Spanish) ranks fıfth in the EU. According to the 2012 Eurobarometer report, Russian is the fıfth most widely spoken foreign language in the EU. While Russian is most widely understood in the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), the titular languages of Slavic-speaking EU member states are mostly limited to their neighboring languages. The representation of Slavic languages in the EU is likely to increase in the future, as Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia have the status of EU candidate countries.
(2020) Silesian (in Poland). In: Greenberg, Marc L. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Slavic Languages and Linguistics. Brill. https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-slavic-languages-and-linguistics-online/silesian-in-poland-COM_036055.
Abstract. Silesian is a language variety used predominantly in contemporary Poland and spoken by more than 500,000 people (2011 census data; Szałtys and Gudaszewski 2015). Its status as a dialect of Polish is disputed. Silesian is currently undergoing codification and standardization. Increasingly, Silesian is also continuing its expansion into domains previously restricted to (standard) Polish.
Conference Proceedings
(2014) Condemned to Extinction: Molise Slavic 100 Years Ago and Now. In: Witkoś, Jacek, and Sylwester Jaworski (eds.), New Insights into Slavic Linguistics. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 51–58.
(2013) Mikrojęzyki słowiańskie a współczesna typologia języków [Slavic Micro-Languages and the Contemporary Language Typology]. Noviny Slawia 3: 3–6. PDF: http://www.novinyslawia.us.edu.pl/01_2013.pdf.
Book Reviews
(2015) Slavic and German in Contact: Studies from Areal and Contrastive Linguistics. Elżbieta Kaczmarska and Motoki Nomachi (eds.). Journal of Slavic Linguistics 23 (2): 313–318. (with Alexandra Fisher)
(2015) Negotiating Linguistic Identity: Language and Belonging in Europe. Virve-Anneli Vihman and Kristiina Praakli (eds.). Slavia Centralis 2 (2015): 105–107. (with Alexandra Fisher)
Web-Based Research Publications
(2020) Online Conflict Discourse, Identity, and the Social Imagination of Silesian Minority in Poland (Ph.D. dissertation). PDF: https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/handle/1808/30599, https://www.proquest.com/docview/2432823176/C9474F31D3934679PQ.
(2017) Supplemental Bibliography to Slavic Dialectology: A Survey of Research Since 1989. PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/1808/24598.
Public Scholarship
(2022) Review of Kathryn Ciancia’s On Civilization’s Edge: A Polish Borderland in the Interwar World. George L. Mosse Program in History Blog, Department of History, University of Wisconsin–Madison. June 13. https://mosseprogram.wisc.edu/2022/06/13/borowski.
(2020) (single author) Polish Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Wikipedia. September 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Studies_Program_at_the_University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison.
(2020) (single author) Polonistyka na Uniwersytecie Wisconsin w Madison (University of Wisconsin–Madison). Wikipedia. September 5. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonistyka_na_Uniwersytecie_Wisconsin_w_Madison_(University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison).