Larysa Masenko - sociolinguist, professor, head of the Ukrainian Language Department at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Kyiv).Larysa Masenko is a talented academic and teacher, known both in Ukraine and abroad. Her main area of study is sociolinguistics, a science that studies the language situation in a country and proposes language policy. She is the author of seminal papers, such as "Language and policy", "Language and Society", "(U)movna (U)kraina" and others. Ms. Masenko is active in public debates on the language issue and language policy, maintaining a firm pro-Ukrainian position and arguing that bilingualism is a wrong and dangerous path. On January 14, 2010, she was awarded with the Vasyl Stus Prize.
"Bilingual countries nearly always face the danger that they will break up. Trying to maintain two languages within a single country inevitably leads to conflicts between the two languages, their cultures and identities. Large-scale bilingualism is generally a temporary phase, ending in either the victory of one language or in the break-up of the country".information from: http://www.ut.net.ua/Society/17589
photo from: http://vsiknygy.net.ua/