Ethnic Consolidation Research Articles

The Interaction of Languages in the [Sakha] Republic

Language problems of multilingual collectives, exemplified in reality by the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), have entered a new phase of comprehension and resolution. The methodological foundations and the theoretical principles underlying various approaches are undergoing change, and the stereotypes that have evolved concerning equal access to and free functioning of national languages, indeed concerning the full well-being of linguistic life within the republics, are being reexamined. It has been admitted that the principal deficiency of the language policy carried out previously was the ignoring of the national-language consciousness of given peoples. Related to this, only objective indicators (national composition, the nature of the dispersion of residents of different nationalities, the level of functional development of the languages, and others) were taken into account, while subjective factors, primarily the level of national self-consciousness of the various peoples, the place of the native language in the hierarchy of national values, and so forth, were not taken into consideration.1 The concept of "language-building" that presupposes first and foremost the development and refinement of national languages almost completely disappeared. The official line of "ethnic consolidation," the "bringing closer [sblizhenie], followed by the complete merging [sliianie], of national cultures and languages" essentially resulted in the linguistic degradation of whole national cultures.a The absence, in essence, of a language policy that had been well thought out and had prospects led to the unilateral support of only one type of bilingualism—the national-Russian—which was proclaimed as the "fundamental," "leading," and "most appropriate" one. Official documents and decrees right up to the middle of the 1980s concerned themselves primarily with just the problems of the further spreading of the Russian language, and improvement of the ways it was learned and taught in the republics. On the other hand, they touched upon questions of the development of the national languages only in passing. In addition to the ideological grounding of such a onesided direction of language policy, its scientific-theoretical dimension likewise was given wide exposure. Problems of how to improve the ways and forms for using the Russian language as a means of inter-nationality communications, the theoretical foundations for expanding the spheres of its functioning, the factors involved in the spreading and significance of national-Russian bilingualism, the problems concerning the culture of Russian speech among non-Russian nationalities, and so forth, were studied in a great number of monographs and anthologies.

Ethnic processes and trends in the ethnic composition of the population in the USSR

The paper deals with the processes of ethnic consolidation, ethnic and linguistic assimilation and inter-ethnic integration taking place in the USSR. The author shows the influence of consolidation and assimilation processes over the trends in the numerical strength of individual peoples and the resulting change in the country's ethnic composition as this is reflected in the Soviet population censuses of 1926, 1959, 1970, and 1979.

Ethnic processes in the USSR

The article characterizes the multinational composition of the population of the USSR and the processes of ethnic consolidation and mutual rapprochement of nationalities which are taking place here. This latter process is illustrated by data on the linguistic situation.

L’évolution du nationalisme africain

Up to the attainment of power, African nationalism was composed of an anti-colonial awareness and a Pan-African solidarity uniting all forces against the common enemy on vague and general bases but suffused with a strong revolutionary force.Since independence, Pan-African nationalism has become a tendency which is anxious to obtain optimum conditions for complete decolonization, an ethnic consolidation going beyond all frontiers and the liberation of the colonized South.This is now counterbalanced by the appearance of local nationalism which is a form of dissected patriotism, sometimes conservative, sometimes progressist. Even the conservative brand can be a cohesive factor when compared whith tribal separatism which is anothe1’aspect of traditionalism. However, it is important to note that it acts as a vehicle for the interests of an intelligentzia tempted to accumulate capital and to bring about a political consolidation of the rich strata of society which could lead to direct co-operation with the old imperialist enemy if radical change threatened their position.When it turns towards Socialism, African nationalism is an original mixture. It wants to root itself in collectivist traditions and not in foreign ideology, which is not displeasing to Western bourgeois authors; it prefers to count on the common moral points that unite the various strata of society rather than on material antagonism; emotional and contradictory, it has many petits-bourgeois features.The future of African Socialism depends on those of its representatives who will be able to express the interests of the poor peasantry and urban-dwellers.