Contemporary Carpatho-Rusyn Music in Ethnic and Linguistic Revitalization Movement
Contemporary Carpatho-Rusyn Music in Ethnic and Linguistic Revitalization Movement

Summary/Abstract: Drawing on the concepts of linguistic and musical anthropology, this article explores the role of contemporary music production in the ethnolinguistic revitalization of the Carpatho-Rusyn minority in Slovakia. The study aims to clarify and analyse how modern musical genres and emerging hybrid genres contribute to the strengthening of the Carpatho-Rusyn language and ethnic identity in the context of ongoing language shift and assimilation. The research employs a qualitative methodology, combining ethnographic fieldwork in northeastern Slovakia with in-depth interviews of musicians, cultural organizers, and members of the Carpatho-Rusyn community, as well as textual and audiovisual analysis of music-related content. The findings suggest that modern musical forms play a significant role in shaping the linguistic and cultural-musical world of Carpatho-Rusyns. Artists operating in this sphere often intentionally use the Carpatho-Rusyn language as a marker of ethnic belonging, creative authorship, and resistance to dominant cultural norms. Music production targeting younger audiences situates the language within socially attractive, contemporary frameworks, thereby enhancing its symbolic and communicative prest ige and legitimizing its use beyond traditional domains. Ultimately, music emerges not only as a cultural symbol, but as an active agent in processes of identity negotiation and ethnolinguistic revitalization. It becomes a dynamic space where belonging is performed, and where tradition and innovation coexist through hybrid expression.

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