Evaluating language revival policies of Russia’s Finno-Ugric republics: policy impact and its limits

Abstract

The paper evaluates language policies of the ethnic republics of Russia titled after the ethnic groups speaking Finno-Ugric languages in order to understand why the policies had limited impact on their sociolinguistic situations. This is an empirical-analytical study based on quantitative research that investigates within the framework of policy analysis the link between policy outputs and outcomes in order to test the hypothesis that changes in behaviour and attitudes can be traced back to the patterns of languagemanagement. The study produces a systematized set of data on measures taken to create the conditions for language knowledge, use and attitudes in the republics and searches for correlations among variables. The sources of quantitative data include legal and other official documents, accessible official statistics and available sociological and sociolinguistic surveys. Such a policy evaluation contributes to the theoretical understanding of the limits of the revivalist project pursued as a “top-down” public policy.