“SOCIOLINGUISTIC PROCESSES IN MODERN KYRGYZSTAN: MONITORING AND DYNAMICS OF DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGES AFTER GAINING INDEPENDENCE”

Abstract

The article highlights monitoring and dynamics of language development in post-soviet Kyrgyzstan. The crucial politico-social changes after the collapse of the USSR affected greatly the language situation of the country. Hence, this article’s aim is to give some sociolinguistic analysis to the following issues: • To monitor country’s up-to date language situation • To speak on the new language policy of Kyrgyzstan in modern stage • To encounter new socio-economic and political challenges in the process of language lawmaking • To define the interrelationships between dominant languages and vernaculars of minority communities This article also explains the reasons of granting Russian language the status of Lingua Franca, immediately after Kyrgyzstan’s becoming an independent state. One of the acute problems today is corpus planning, which means codification of newly coined or borrowed words. The flow of new terminology from the other languages, especially “Americanisms” and “Englishisisms” which replaced so-called “Sovietisms”, needs to be standardized according to the linguistic norms of state (Kyrgyz) language. The article also reveals “hierarchical” disposition of main languages due to their functional load in 20 domains of Kyrgyzstan. For the last 28 years’ tremendous changes have happened in language space of Kyrgyzstan, directly touching upon the positions of Kyrgyz, Russian, Uzbek, English, Turkish and other languages. Therefore, language system of Kyrgyzstan nowadays presents complex, intertwined interrelations between all nationalities residing in Kyrgyzstan and language cooperation among them. It happened because of some socio-political reasons: 1) The flow of Russian speaking population from industrial areas to the Russian Federation. 2) Changing demographic situation on the country. 3) Inner immigration process when many unemployed people from the distant regions came to Bishkek and Chui valley to find job possibilities.