The current article analyzes the Lithuanian-language Jewish periodical Apžvalga as a source of historical socio-linguistic research. It is argued that in the late 1930s the socio-linguistic profile of the Lithuanian Jews was more complex than just either Yiddish with or without Hebrew or a non-Jewish language. In less than 20 years, the process underwent rapid development, resulting in a working command of Lithuanian as a starting point, and, at least for some Jews, the “appropriation” of Lithuanian as a language of artistic expression and culture. The discourse on language developed in the Apžvalga differs somewhat from the discourses developed in the periodicals published in the Jewish languages. The Yiddish-Hebrew controversy received no attention at all, while the periodical actively argued against the stereotype of Jews as Russifiers and emphasized the importance of Lithuanian as a lingua franca for Lithuania’s minorities.
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