Linguistic Situation Research Articles

Русский язык в контексте языковой политики в финно-угорских республиках РФ

The features of the functioning of the Russian language in four Finno-Ugric republics of the Russian Federation, peoples of which entered the Russian state in the XV-XVI centuries, are examined. The consequences of the violent Christianization of the Finno-Ugric peoples are commented. The demographic features of the republics, as well as the current ratio of the Russian and the titular population are characterized. Based on the data on the reduction of the titular population, the question is raised about the possibility of calling these republics Finno-Ugric. The current situation of the Russian and state Finno-Ugric languages in the most important areas of communication is examined in detail. Particular attention is paid to legal acts establishing the status of languages in these republics, namely, laws on languages. Conclusions are drawn about the influence of laws on the linguistic situation and the linguistic competence of the population of the republics. The characteristic types of bilingualism in these regions are determined. The dominant position of the Russian language is stated. It is argued that national languages cannot compete with Russian. A forecast is made on the further development of the situation, in particular, on the functioning of national titular languages and Russian as state language. The novelty of this study is in the combination of historical and modern data, allowing to give a complete picture of the influence of the Russian language on the situation in the republics, to study the reasons for its distribution and dominance in these republics.

Multilingualism in Enlightenment Europe

[Rev. of: Rjéoutski V., Frijhoff W., eds., Language Choice in Enlightenment Europe: Education, Sociability, and Governance, Amsterdam, 2018, 233 pp.] The book under review is an English-language collective monograph called “Language Choice in Enlightenment Europe: Education, Sociability, and Governance”, written by authors from the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Estonia, and Croatia (edited by Vladislav Rjéoutski and Willem Frijhoff). The subject of the monograph is the language choice in the European countries of the 18th century. This is the sixth book in the Languages and Cultures in History series, and it includes an introduction, eight articles by the international team of authors, and an alphabetical index of names and places mentioned. The Enlightenment was marked in Europe by the gradual abandonment of Latin in education and public administration and its replacement by vernaculars. At the same time, there are peculiarities in every country, particularly in the Russian Empire and Croatia. Archival materials (private letters, memoirs, official questionnaires, statistics) make this book extremely valuable. The authors analyse the linguistic situation in France, the Netherlands, Central Germany, the Estonian Governorate, Croatia, the Hungarian Kingdom, and the Russian Empire. Language choice is discussed at the micro-level (e.g. within one family) as well as at the macro-level (e.g., in education, public administration, among the nobility or clergy). The book will be of great interest to historians, linguists, sociologists, anthropologists, as well as to specialists in international relations.

Severed Language Contacts: Two Examples from the History of English

The phenomenon of language contact is generally viewed as establishing or maintaining relationship by speakers of different languages. As far as the English language is concerned, especially its contemporary status, it is its global reach and influence that is discussed, as well as the influence it exerts on other languages. The present text deals with a reverse phenomenon, that is the cessation of contact, which results in a change of the linguistic situation. This is exemplified with the 16th-century English Reformation, to be more precise: the establishment of the Anglican Church, and the independence of the United States in the 18th century. With these two events, the author attempts to present how the breaking of contact influenced the further development of the linguistic situation in the external history of the English language.

Лінгвістична ситуація в Парагваї. Особливості іспанської мови та гуарані Парагваю. Йопара – «третя мова» Парагваю (Роздуми про лінгвістичну ситуацію в Парагваї в літературі. Роман Хуана Мануєля Маркоса «Зима Гюнтера»).

In article peculiarities of linguistic situation of Paraguay are analyzed: typical lexical units, paraguayisms – the linguistic units of Spanish and Guarani that are contrasted with spoken Spanish of other countries of Latin America and Spain, which pose certain difficulties of rapid comprehension for Spanish speakers.The historical aspects of coexistence of Spanish and Guarani are mentioned.The author rescues most remarkable peculiarities of Spanish of Paraguay and Guarani. It is noted that conquest situation gave certain advantages to development of Guarani. There was no imposition of one culture over other. On contrary, both of them went through a mutual process of linguistic enrichment. This condition led to mixture of two different cultures and languages and appearance of third language of Paraguay – jopara (guaranol, hispanicized Guarani), which de facto is main language of Paraguay today.Some aspects of formation of jopara are clarified: morphosyntactic, lexical, in first place.

О современной лингвистической ситуации в Англии. К проблеме вариативности английского языка в Лондоне

О современной лингвистической ситуации в Англии. К проблеме вариативности английского языка в Лондоне

A Review of Literature on the Language Policy of Imperial Russia and the Modern Linguistic Situation

This article traces Russian nationality and language policies from 1800 to the early 20th century based on historical, historiographic, sociological, and sociolinguistic sources. The 1822 Charter on the Governance of Indigenous Peoples (concerning the peoples of Siberia) was indicative of Russian national policies in general. It ordained that ethnicities be self-governed and that official routines, school education and church services be in native languages. However, following the Polish uprisings of 1830–1831 and 1863, the empire began to tighten its grip on its western regions. Polish was banned from schools and publications outside the Kingdom of Poland, while Ukrainophilia was repressed; alternatively, Lithuanian and Belarusian were advanced and Russian schools introduced. Basically, the policies of Russia reveal a pattern of dynamic fluctuations, dependent on domestic political conditions and the international situation – liberal in calm and prosperous times, repressive in times of external/internal threats. By and large, Russia governed so as to preserve the diversity of its national provinces. In the 20th century, it quite logically resulted in the principle of democratic centralism in the nationality policy of the USSR, the autonomy of Soviet national republics united in a single centralised multinational state. The Russian Federation largely inherited its current nationality policy from imperial and Soviet models.

Features of the adaptationof educational migrants in the bilingual environment

The authors of the article examine the most significant issues that are related to the peculiarities of the manifestation of interference in the closely related languages – Russian and Ukrainian. Despite the fact that official Ukrainian Studies usually consider Ukraine a single-level and monolingual state, it must be admitted that the Ukrainian-Russian bilingualism is a system-forming feature of the linguistic situation in most Ukrainian regions. The authors describe and analyze the types of difficulties that are caused by the peculiarities of interlingual interference of closely related languages, and give linguistic and methodical recommendations for overcoming such issues. Interlingual interference covers all language levels and is especially pronounced at the phonetic level since there are significant differences in the systems of vocalism and consonantism. At the phonetic level, interference appears at the early stage of developing listening and pronunciation skills. At the grammatical level, there are differences between similar Russian and Ukrainian nouns in their gender and number. Another difficulty lies in the fact that some lexical units in these two languages sound the same but have different meanings. The inability to distinguish such words causes multiple errors. Differences in the characteristics of closely related linguistic systems are also observed in speech etiquette, which is especially important when teaching a language to educational migrants. One of the possible props for overcoming interference is an active learner’s vocabulary, which should become an assistant in mastering a language. The authors hope that the recommendations outlined in the article will help to overcome the arising difficulties and make the process of teaching foreign students a second non-native language easier and more successful.

Особливості функціонування запозичених лексем у мові українських засобів масової інформації

The article analyzes the most commonly used foreign-language lexical items in the language of modern Ukrainian mass media. The objective of the article is to study the thematic direction of foreign-language lexical items, to determine their stylistic role, as well as to indicate the instability of spelling of certain borrowings. The descriptive method and method of observation are used as the main ones in the scientific research for the study of lexical items in the language of Ukrainian periodicals of the beginning of the XXI century. At different stages of the research, the method of functional analysis was used to determine the stylistic meaning of lexical items. The foreign-language words are an integral part of Ukrainian vocabulary, due to some extralin factors, such as Ukraine’s course towards European integration, the process of globalization, economy restructuring, orientation towards the countries of the West, that have caused the close cultural, political, and social and economic cooperation of the Ukrainians with other nations. As the language of modern mass media shows, the borrowings get into various scopes of society: economic, social and political, scientific, cultural, educational, communication, everyday life etc. Due to the active borrowing of foreign-language lexical items, we can have a threatening linguistic situation: functioning of doublets in the language, increasing the number of unwanted homonyms, borrowing of proper names without translation, borrowing of words that aim at imitating something different. The borrowings in the Ukrainian language have often different spelling, which proves the instability of spelling and requires further scientific researches.

Современная языковая ситуация в Иркутской области: причины языкового сдвига (на материале русского и бурятского языков)

The study of the language situation in the Irkutsk region (Ust-Orda Buryat district, Olkhonsky district, Odinsk village of the Angarsk region) is presented, where Russian and Buryat languages are closely interacting (Buryats are the second largest population after Russians in the designated territory). The linguistic situation of these districts of the Irkutsk region was first subjected to a comprehensive description (earlier in the Buryat linguistics the interaction of the Russian and Buryat languages was studied in other territories - the Republic of Buryatia, Aginsky Buryat District of the Chita Region). In the course of expeditionary research, we obtained information about in which functional areas the Buryats use their native language with the unconditional leadership of the Russian language. It was revealed that at present subordinate bilingualism is observed in this territory, leading to a gradual linguistic shift, which is observed at all levels of the Buryat language system. Among the indicators that contribute to the language shift, same as N. B. Vakhtin and E. V. Golovko, the authors distinguish the following: the number of speakers of the Buryat language, the language environment, type of economic activity, reproduction of the language, interethnic marriages, the state language policy, the prestige of the language, the presence or absence of writing. It is noted that each of these parameters shows a tendency towards the loss of the autochthonous language of the indigenous population.

ФРАНСИЙСКИЙ КАК КАМЕНЬ ПРЕТКНОВЕНИЯ В ИСТОРИИ ФРАНЦУЗСКОГО ЯЗЫКА

Criticism of the concept of the formation of the French language on the basis of the francien dialect, presented in the works of XIX-XX centuries, has led to the fact that the term and the concept of «Francien» has become a kind of stumbling block in solving many questions of the formation and evolution of the French language. Analysis of the criticism of the traditional history of the French language, of the discussions about the formation of the French language and the role of the Francien dialect in this process, of the questions of the diatopic variation of the French and Old French showed the theoretical and methodological importance of consistently separating the language and writing, dialect and scriptа, text of the work and text of the manuscript. The analysis of the arguments given by the opponents of the Francien dialect and its special role in the history of the French language showed their failure. The selection of the Francien dialect and the Francien scripta as dialect and scripta of Ile-de-France is necessary for an adequate description of the linguistic situation in the Old and middle French periods.

ЗАКОНОДАВЧЕ РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ МОВНИХ ВІДНОСИН В УКРАЇНІ

The article focuses on the issue of legislative regulation of linguistic relationships in Ukraine. The ability of a national language to function as a means of consolidation and national identification depends to a large extent on state linguistic policy, political support that the language receives. The state legislation on language is indicative in this regard while it establishes the status of languages, the linguistic model and the linguistic regime. In accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, the Ukrainian language is a state language in Ukraine. The dynamics of the Ukrainian legislation on languages illustrates the inconsistency of the implementation of this constitutional norm. The article analyzes the milestones of its formation. The content of the basic laws in the sphere of linguistic relationships (Law of the USSR ‘On Languages in the Ukrainian SSR’ (1989), the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Principles of the State Language Policy’ (2012), which is invalid now, and the new Law of Ukraine ‘On the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as a State Language’ (2019)), the socio-political tendencies, that preceded their adoption, their evaluation by tpublic and world community as well as their consequences for linguistic situation in Ukraine are described. The possibility of official bilingualism approving is studied. The article analyzes historical, cultural and political preconditions for the adoption of official bi- or multilingualism by other states, acceptability of this linguistic model for Ukraine and possibility to overcome existing linguistic contradictions.

TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION, LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY: A CASE FROM MEXICO

Educating for a future that assumes students will be educated in the country where they were born or that they will remain in the country where they are currently in school does not reflect the reality of the movement of people in an age of globalization. The research presented here examines the case of children and youth in Mexican public schools who have had some or all of their education in the United States, transnational students (TS) with a particular focus on their linguistic situation. Results suggest that TS struggle with the linguistic transition from Spanish as language of the home to Spanish as the language of education. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research and application to other contexts.

On the Lexeme Handful

Starting from research into the use of the lexeme handful , this paper's author indicates considering a contemporary linguistic situation. Observing electronic news and the results of the survey conducted among fifty students, we conclude that, in contrast to the basic meaning (joined palms) and secondary meaning (amount that fits in joined palms), the particulate (qualification M. Ivic) handful is presently most often used as an intensifier, often with intangible entities, referring to the negligible amount, or in the sense of a lot (plural of something). The primary meaning of this lexeme is to some extent preserved in the works of literature as well as the secondary meaning ʻamount that fits in joined palmsʼ.

O sinal da Cruz em um catecismo na língua geral da Amazônia [175-

O objetivo do trabalho é apresentar uma transcrição do primeiro capítulo de um catecismo manuscrito anônimo em língua geral e parcialmente em latim, produzido, com muita probabilidade, por um dos jesuítas de língua alemã que atuaram na Amazônia em meados do século XVIII. O capítulo trata sobre os temas do nome do “cristão” e da prática do sinal da cruz. A transcrição é acompanhada de notas com as traduções para o português, sendo precedida por um texto de apresentação com hipóteses acerca da autoria do catecismo, o contexto histórico da produção do documento e a situação linguística das missões do Grão-Pará no setecentos.

Sytuacja języka białoruskiego w Internecie

The article is devoted to the functioning of the Belarusian language in Internet communication. The author presents the results of her own research, in which she is interested in what language the Internet users write public and private messages, read news from the world or look for information. The author presents the linguistic situation on the Belarusian Internet and the functioning of the Belarusian language in various spheres of communication: in the mass media, social media, commentaries under press articles, websites of state institutions and private enterprises. Consequently, the real position and role of the Belarusian language in virtual communication is presented in the paper.

O Cabo-Verdiano visto por Cabo-verdianos ou Contributo para uma Leitura da Situação Linguística em Cabo Verde

Este artigo pretende, por um lado, ser uma contribuição para uma leitura da situação linguística de Cabo Verde e, por outro, para dar maior visibilidade ao debate que os europeus, Linguistas brasileiros e norte-americanos estão tendo sobre o dilema que a atual geração de Cabo Verde está experimentando. Os problemas se referem à questão do estatuto do português e do cabo-verdiano, à questão da "oficialização" da língua da terra e à questão da "variante" de crioulo a ser escolhida. Em suma, a situação atual é de bilinguismo e não de diglossia: qualquer uma das línguas é falada em todas as situações e em todos os lugares.

Jazyková Situace A Jazyková Politika Na Baleárských Ostrovech

Abstract The paper will focus on the Balearic Islands, the autonomous community of Spain, located in the western Mediterranean Sea. The focus is placed not only on the demography and the linguistic situation but primarily on the linguistic politics and the language legislation of this territory. The Balearic Islands have the same political autonomy as the other Autonomous Communities of Spain which, however, use it far less than the other communities. Catalan is not for local inhabitants, who do not feel a strong belonging to the Catalan speaking world, so an essential part of identity as for the inhabitants of Catalonia and therefore the linguistic question for the local politicians is not such a priority as for the politicians in Catalonia. Even the sense of identity on the Islands is less intense than in Catalonia or the Basque Country, thanks to the migration from the different parts of Spain and from abroad. Despite the emancipation efforts, which we can observe even in other parts of Spain, Catalan on the Balearic Islands, due to the reasons mentioned above contrary to Catalonia, does not have any chance to resist Spanish or even to overpower it.

Migration, Language Policies, and Language Rights in Luxembourg

Abstract This paper deals with the state of language rights in Luxembourg in the light of immigration and the multilingualism associated with it. Although Luxembourg might appear to be an ideal case of multilingualism with three official languages (Luxembourgish, French, and German), the reality is very different because its language policies are marked by a hierarchy: while Luxembourgish has the symbolic dominance as the ‘national language’, French is the preferred language in the workplace and administration. The situation has become complex due to the steady influx of immigrants since the 1970s. Currently, more than 40 per cent of Luxembourg’s population consists of foreigners, and this has changed the linguistic situation in the sense that Portuguese has become one of the most widely spoken languages in Luxembourg, although it does not enjoy any legal safeguards. Taking account of this multilingual scenario, this paper examines the rights of different linguistic communities in Luxembourg. On the one hand, there is the need to protect Luxembourgish, which is the majority language in Luxembourg but a minority language when compared to other national languages of Europe, while, on the other hand, the needs of its Portuguesespeaking community also have to be taken into account since the use of German as the medium of instruction at primary level disadvantages them. Finally, the paper will also consider the role and the future of the other two main languages (French and German).

Foreign languages and the problem of African identity: the Nigerian situation

The issue of identity seems to have taken the form of a mirage with the continuous influx of foreign languages into the developing world. Despite the heterogeneous linguistic situation itself the continent has always been open to foreign languages as a means of effective communication between peoples and cultures both within and outside the continent. This paper examines the influence of foreign languages on African identity with a special reference to Nigeria and some francophone countries. It also explores ways in which the African man can maintain his cultural identity in spite of foreign influence.

ПРОБЛЕМА ЯЗЫКОВОГО СТАНДАРТА В УСЛОВИЯХ ДИГЛОССИИ НЕМЕЦКОГО ЯЗЫКА ШВЕЙЦАРИИ

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the linguistic situation in German-speaking Switzerland, namely, the problem of the status and nature of language standard in the conditions of unique medial diglossia. The onset of dialects on the functions and spheres of using the standard variety of the language now leads to the denial of their own Swiss national language standard in the perception of the German-Swiss. The author presents the characteristics of this language variety from linguistic, sociolinguistic, socio-cultural and linguo-didactic positions basing on the analysis of the Swiss and German linguists’ conceptions.