Since the Middle Ages, the Lemkos (lem. Лемкы) have inhabited their homeland, Lemkowyna (lem. Лемковина), located in the Carpathian Mountains. After World War II, the Polish communist authorities forcibly resettled the Lemkos to the western and northern regions of the reconstituted Polish state. These events are still perceived by the Lemko community as traumatic, involving ethnic and linguistic violence, the loss of land and property, and the disintegration of their group identity.
In this seminar, I will present research conducted by a team of Lemko indigenous scholars, economists, and transdisciplinary researchers focused on minority languages. Our research examines the intergenerational, long-term consequences of the post-WWII persecution of the Lemkos. By combining classical economic theories of discrimination, elements of Ethnolinguistic Vitality Theory, and the emic (insider) perspective of Lemko scholars, we developed a structural equation model to analyze these impacts.
The findings from our model not only enhance understanding of how violence influences linguistic change, educational choices, and financial satisfaction but also highlight the methodological limitations of both qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as prospects for future transdisciplinary and transmethodological collaborations.