Hate speech, stigmatization, and exclusion are increasingly common and gaining acceptance in some circles, disproportionately affecting national, ethnic, religious, linguistic, and sexual minorities, as well as both real and imagined migrants in Poland. These groups face unchecked stereotyping and are often subjected to violence, hostile rhetoric, and campaigns of alienation, fueled by ideological and political motives. Using recent examples, the keynote lecture will explore the linguistic, political, and social mechanisms behind these phenomena, focusing on case studies of minorities, LGBTQ+ communities, and migrants, especially from Ukraine and beyond Europe.

Tomasz Wicherkiewicz is a Professor of Linguistics at A. Mickiewicz University in Poznań and head of the Dept. of Language Policy & Minority Studies. He chairs the Program Board of the Institute of Poland’s Linguistic Diversity; his expertise includes sociolinguistics, language policy, minority languages, language revitalization, and the protection of linguistic minority rights. He has worked with minority communities in Poland, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. An honorary citizen of the town of Wilamowice, he has also been awarded the Ryngraf Witosław for his work promoting the Wymysiöeryś and Kashubian languages respectively.

Welcome: Professor Dr. Andreas Ohme
Moderation: Dr. Grzegorz Lisek