Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences / Impact of Language Ideologies on Language Practices in Pridnestrovie

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Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences. 2022 15 (11)
Authors
Tulum, Andrei S.; Zubalov, Denis Yu.
Contact information
Tulum, Andrei S.: School of Politics and Governance, Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics Moscow, Russian Federation; atulum@hse.ru; Zubalov, Denis Yu.: School of Philological Studies, Faculty of Humanities, National Research University Higher School of Economics Moscow, Russian Federation; dzubalov@hse.ru
Keywords
language ideology; language attitudes; Pridnestrovie; Russian language; multilingualism; identity
Abstract

Over the last 30 years Pridnestrovie, a de facto independent state in the post- Soviet space, has remained one of the few countries in the world where the Russian language is not only widely used but still enjoys the official status. This article aims to explain what factors have led to the current state of affairs. First, the paper provides a historical background of the region in the 19th century when the community of people from different ethnic backgrounds, which Pridnestrovie represents now, was formed. Then, following the theoretical framework of language ideologies, the present paper analyses the issues of language policy during the Soviet period and the impact they have had on the contemporary language attitudes people of the region hold now. In addition, the study outlines the language legislation of Pridnestrovie that secures linguistic pluralism in the country in theory but is more of a symbolic value in practice. Drawing on the analysis of quantitative data, obtained from 135 online questionnaires, we argue that the ethnic identity of the respondents drives, to a large degree, the decision to select particular languages as their mother tongue(s), which is, however, not the case when it comes to the question about the ethnicity of the participants. Additionally, it appears that the top-down imposition of language ideologies has influenced the participants’ language attitudes and their beliefs about the role the Russian language plays in the republic, especially in the sphere of education, career and the maintenance of interethnic peace in the region

Pages
1552–1572
DOI
10.17516/1997-1370-0936
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/148777

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

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