5. Reversing Language Shift in Kazakhstan

Abstract

In the last two decades a growing number of scholars have studied attempts to raise the status of languages that have been on the losing end in the process of language shift. In describing reversing language shift (RLS) and making recommendations about the best way to attempt it, Fishman repeatedly likens weak languages to sick human beings. Fishman's study provides a useful framework for studying efforts to reverse language shift that occurred in the case of Kazakh, one of the major Turkic languages spoken in the former USSR, now the state language of Kazakhstan. By the 1970s and 1980s, Kazakh had lost serious ground in many domains to Russian, the most widely spoken language in the Soviet Union. This phenomenon, which was especially pronounced in urban areas, was in large part a result of Soviet policy designed to create a sense of commonality among the diverse population of the USSR. Keywords:Joshua Fishman; Kazakhstan; language; reversing language shift (RLS); Soviet era; USSR