Language situation in dynamic Eurasian region: Introducing the special issue (original) (raw)
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Linguistic Diversity and Plurality in Eurasia
International Encyclopedia of Linguistic Anthropology
Eurasia's exuberant linguistic diversity can best be seen through the lens of the 'core' Eurasian linguistic regions: the Steppe, the Caucasus, and the Himalaya-Pamir-Tian Shan mountain ranges. They also present citation examples of how geography affects the distribution and evolution of language families: spread-zones vs. residual zones. Encyclopedia article for International Encyclopedia of Linguistic Anthropology
2015
The region of Central Asia is highly multilingual: each of the republics of the region is named for a titular nationality, each in turn with its own language, similarly termed the titular language. Thus, we have Kazakh in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan, Tajik in Tajikistan, Turkmen in Turkmenistan, and Uzbek in Uzbekistan. Speakers of these languages are found not only in their titular republics, but also in the neighbouring republics. Of course, when we speak of these or any languages, we have problems of boundaries: where does one language start and another end? Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Uzbek are classified as members of the Turkic language family, while Tajik, an Iranian language, is considered to be a Central Asian variety of Persian. Each displays variation among regional dialects with transitional varieties that may share features with the above languages, leaving us with a complex Turkic and Iranian dialect continua with boundaries that may be fuzzier than the sharpness of political frontiers might suggest. This chapter explores several diachronic stages of Central Asia's language ecology focusing on multilingualism and languages of wider communication and the lenses of diglossia with or without bilingualism, ending with a sample of contemporary language ecology of Central Asia. The chapter argues that an ecological approach to the question of language change in Central Asia provides greater descriptive adequacy of analysis, while a comparative diachronic and synchronic approach provides insight into the processes of change that may also shed some light on current language dilemmas of the region.
Ecolinguistic Problems of the North Caucasus in the Context of Language Policy
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences, 2017
The paper is devoted to the study of language ecology of the North Caucasus in the context of language policy. The following problems have been identified among the main ecolinguistic issues: many languages of the peoples of Russia are facing the threat of extinction or are endangered; the actual ethnic composition of the population and the number of languages in the country have not been identified yet; in the conditions of irresistible globalization there is little chance of small ethnic groups' languages survival, the groups having neither written language nor the language of official status; ethnicity is doomed to extinction as their language is falling out of use, yet it is the main bearer of the cultural code of the people. The paper concludes that the threat to the Russian language and culture from other peoples and their cultures seems exaggerated. In relation to the urgency of preserving the Russian language as the state language and the language of interethnic communication in the country as a whole as well as in the republics, it is vital to consider the importance of preservation of all the languages spoken by the peoples of Russia and create the conditions for their further development.
Language Policies in Present-Day Central Asia
2001
Current language policies in Central Asian states developed in parallel with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and were left in the hands of persons trained in Soviet-style state bureaucracy. In 1989–1990, language laws were passed in the five republics of Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikstan and Turkmenistan laying down the rights and obligations in the use of languages. Ensuing language reform has been devoted to corpus issues - first and foremost the question of a change-over to Latin script, but also lexical revision. Even though the implementation of Central Asian language laws is slow and hesitating, the intensified preoccupation with linguistic matters in the newly independent states of the region has made people more conscious of their own linguistic destiny and language identities. This concern among language users will add further dynamism to linguistic issues and influence both official language reform and developments for which there are not yet any definite plans.
Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2016
—Two postulates about the role of ethnic diversity and the fate of languages in the world are revised on the basis of Russian materials. The author makes the following conclusions: (a) the ethnic fragmentation of the population and language diversity of the countries in the world do not correlate directly with their levels of democracy, presence of conflicts, and economic success and (b) widely publicized predictions about the quick extinction of most languages in the world have turned out to be a myth, and international campaigns and declarations in support of endangered languages were excessively politicized. The process of revitaliza tion of languages is under way; they are acquiring a higher status, acknowledgment, and support on the terri tory of the former Soviet Union, including the minority languages of the peoples of Dagestan, the North, and Siberia. The state policy of providing an official status for regional languages and the ethnic component of the federative system as ethnocultural autonomy for individual regions and ethnic communities play a key role. A list of endangered languages is given; motives and factors of assimilation in favor of the Russian language in Russia are explained. Categories and social practices based on them, such as mother tongue and national language are revised in favor of multiply and mutually nonexclusive approaches.
Towards " mapping " a complex language ecology: The case of Central Asia
In S. Brunn & R. Kehrein (Eds.), Handbook of the Changing World Language Map. Springer. , 2018
Interest in languages and language is increasing worldwide, particularly in connection with globalization and the international spread of English. This phenomenon raises questions not only about bilingualism, but also multilingualism of society and plurilingualism of individuals and language policies, particularly in areas where decolonization and/or recent interdependence have brought them into question and made possible policies that presuppose different relations between the state, language(s) and communities found within a polity. Together with these changes has come a shift from reductionist approaches to language and society dealing with one language and one community at a time in favour of a more realist, pluralist, ecological approach that attempts to deal with all the languages within a given social and geographical space. This chapter presents a little known, but exemplary case of a region where all of the above factors are at play: multilingual Central Asia, and the recently independent post-Soviet republics of
Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Serija 2. Jazykoznanije
The study was carried out with the focus on the current issues of sociolinguistics related to the search for ways to preserve the languages of small peoples. The article systematizes data on the state of the languages of the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation living in the North, Siberia and the Far East, presented in modern publications of historians and linguists, and the documents that reflect the results of the 2010 population census of the Russian Federation, considers the influence of sociolinguistic factors on the language situation in these territories. Having analyzed the world experience of legal language legislation on preserving the cultures and languages of small peoples, the authors attempted to apply some global criteria to the Russian legislation and socio-economic practice and identified socially significant criteria for establishing the language situation in relation to the languages of the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation living in the North,...
2. Language Ecology: Understanding Central Asian Multilingualism
Language Change in Central Asia, 2000
Central Asia is extremely multilingual. Each of the five republics is named for a titular nationality, with, in turn, its own titular language. Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Uzbek are classified as Turkic languages; however, Tajik is an Indo-Iranian language. Speakers of these languages are found not only in their titular republics, but also in the neighboring republics. Each language has a number of regional dialects with transitional varieties that share their features, creating complex Turkic and Iranian dialect continua. Adopting a language ecology framework, this chapter explores several diachronic stages of Central Asia's language history and ends examining contemporary Central Asia through an ecological lens. The chapter argues that an ecological approach to language change in Central Asia provides a richer lens for analysis. Furthermore, I argue that incorporating both comparative diachronic and synchronic perspectives provides deeper insight into the processes of change that may also shed some light on the current language dilemmas faced within the region.
Ethno-Linguistic Processes in Post-Soviet South Siberia
Cultural Changes in the Turkic World, 2007
In the 1990s, the Turkic languages spoken in South Siberia (Tuvan, Altai, Khakas, Shor and numerous other Turkic varieties) received a powerful stimulus for their further development due to a growth of the national sentiments and political changes in Russia as a whole. Tuvan, Altai and Khakas, were given the status of state languages alongside Russian in the respective national republics of the Russian Federation: Tyva (formerly Tuva), Mountainous Altai and Khakasia. This article describes the new sociolinguistic situation that arose after these languages were made official languages. Although it has no national administrative territory, Shor was able to revive its written form. The process of national revival also touched minor ethnic groups of Turks in Northern (Kumandy, Tuba, Chalkan) and Southern (Teleut, Telengit) Altai. In the 1920s and 1930s, they were, rather voluntarily, united with Southern Altai ethnic groups (Altai-kiži) in the framework of the Altai Autonomous Region of the USSR and, until very recently, have not been considered separate nations. Consequently, their languages were treated as dialects of the Altai literary language based on the Altai-kiži linguistic variety. This worked more or less well for the Southern Altai varieties, in particular for Telengit, but not so well for the Northern Altai linguistic varieties very far from the Altai-kiži idiom. The speakers of Tuba, Kumandy and Chalkan had to learn Altai almost as a foreign language. Their native linguistic varieties did not have a literary form and were not taught at school. They were also, with rare exceptions, ignored by linguists. Together with other social and economic factors, this led to a gradual decline of these languages, making them acutely endangered. At present, they have the status of separate languages and attempts are underway to develop their literary forms. The disintegration of the literary Altai language also involved the Teleut and Telengit ethnic groups, whose languages are quite close to the Altai-kiži idiom. The Telengit have not had any difficulty in using Altai as their literary form. However, at present, these groups are considered to be separate nations and want to develop a distinct literary form. This means that our understanding of the dialectal system of the Altai literary language has become outdated and is in need of review. Turkic state languages of South Siberia Tuvan, Khakas and Altai have been functioning as state languages along with Russian in the national republics for a few years already. Respective language
Problems of preserving the languages of the peoples of the North Caucasus in the modern period
SHS Web of Conferences
The paper analyzes the language policy and its implementation in the North Caucasus in the modern period. The experience of the work of the state authorities and educational institutions in the language sphere is studied. It is noted that in Russia the problem of preserving the languages of the peoples of the country, including the peoples of the North Caucasus, became urgent after the native (national) languages were excluded from the federal educational standard. After some discontent, amendments were adopted to the articles of the law ‘On education in the Russian Federation’. Students in Russian schools were provided the opportunity to study Russian as a native language along with the possibility of receiving education in their native languages from among the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation. The subjects of the Russian Federation have sufficiently developed laws and regulations that ensure the preservation and development of the languages of the peoples of the ...