Сохранность этнического языка у уральских марийцев

Abstract

This article presents linguistic biographies of several representatives of the Mari diaspora in the Moscow region, natives of the Sverdlovsk region who took part in the author’s sociolinguistic 2019-21 survey aimed at describing how an ethnic language functions within an internal diaspora. It is assumed that language use is due, among other things, to previous linguistic experience in the locality where one grew up. Thus, part of the survey questionnaire was devoted to language use in intra-family communication, preschool education, school education (language of instruction and language as school subject), and further education. The responses made it possible to establish which channels were used by respondents for learning Mari and Russian, as well as to identify the languages used for interacting with their neighbors in their home area. The data collected in the article is also offered as an attempt to describe the current Mari language situation in areas with a high concentration of Ural Maris in the Krasnoufimsky, Achitsky, Artinsky and Nizhneserginsky districts of the Sverdlovsk region. The author discusses Mari language use in the home and in the educational system. Some common language ideologies that underly family language policy and influence the choice of the language of intra-family interactions are described in detail. A separate section analyzes the dynamics of how the Mari language functions in education according to data obtained in interviews with teachers at local schools. The issues of Mari language-in-culture maintenance and its presence in religious rites are also explored. An important focus of the article is on preserving the ethnic identity of the Mari people residing in the diaspora that was formed in the 16-18th centuries.