Drugaije

Drugaije is a term used in speculative linguistics and science fiction world-building to denote a sociolinguistic phenomenon in which a speaker alternates between two closely related language varieties within a single utterance to signal stance, group affiliation, or topical focus.

The name combines "druga" meaning "other" or "second" in several Slavic languages with the noun-forming suffix "-ije." It is not part of established linguistic nomenclature in mainstream research; rather, it appears in fictional or hypothetical discussions as a working concept to model fluid language practices in multilingual settings.

Drugaije typically features rapid intra-sentential alternation, with lexical items, pronouns, or inflected markers drawn from related varieties. The switches are guided by social meaning rather than by grammar alone, often aligning with topics, emotional stance, or group membership. Unlike conventional code-switching, the alternation in drugaije tends to blur the boundary between varieties, creating a hybrid segment.

In world-building, drugaije is used to add realism to communities where language varieties coexist, such as diasporic networks or borderlands. In academic-fiction discourse, it serves as a placeholder for phenomena that real grammars describe under other labels, like code-switching, diglossia, or multilingual accommodation.

See also: code-switching, diglossia, multilingualism, language ideology.