Search

FUNCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE TUVA LANGUAGE: DIACHRONIC ASPECT // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2018. Issue 3 (21). P. 56-66

The article deals with the dynamics of functional development of modern Tuva language in compliance with diachronic-sociolinguistic approach. Given the attempt to characterize the history of Tuvan functional development in connection with Tuvan society history, the article describes the social changes that had a direct impact on the functional status of the language. The author conditionally identifies several stages in Tuvan functional development and this division allows seeing language development from one stage to another. Particular attention is paid to pre-Soviet era: Tuvan-Mongolian language contacts, history of Tuvan national writing, language peculiarities during the existence of Tuvan People's Republic, political situation. This time is considered as positive and associated with formation of literary form of the language, expansion of its social functions. The functional state of the language in the Soviet period is characterized by the increasing role of the Russian language in everyday life of Tuvans, the gradual increase of Tuvan-Russian bilingualism, the reduction of some communicative spheres of Tuvan. At the same time, studies showed that during the Soviet period Tuvan remained the main means of communication of Tuvans. Socio-political changes in the early 1990's contributed to the settlement of the legal status of the Tuvan language, strengthening the national consciousness of Tuvans. On the base of historical reconstruction the general situation of the Tuvan language interaction with Mongolian and Russian is introduced. The analysis show that Mongolian and Russian had significant influence to the Tuvan functional development, namely these languages were its main contact influences. The survey also demonstrates that at the beginning, Mongolian and Russian were mainly used for management, interethnic contacts and maintained only official spheres. The author concludes that such functional distribution led to limited, asymmetrical use of the modern Tuva language in official spheres. In conclusion the stages of Tuvan functional development are represented.

Keywords: language situation, functional distribution, social function, the Tuva language, Tuvans, Republic of Tuva

The Russian Language in the Assessments of the Mongols: the Sociolinguistic Representation // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025. Issue 3 (49). P. 48-60

The article is devoted to analyzing the linguistic attitudes, evaluations, and social representations of the inhabitants of modern Mongolia in relation to the Russian language. The empirical basis of the study is based on the results of a comprehensive socio-psycholinguistic survey on the function of the Russian language in the educational system of Mongolia, which was conducted from 2021 to 2023. The survey results show that respondents believe Russian should be taught in Mongolia’s educational institutions. The analysis of subjective attitudes revealed a certain hierarchy of foreign languages in the rating system of adult Mongolians: English comes first, Russian second, and Chinese third. The study showed that there are different motives for learning these languages. English is characterized by integrative attitudes, while Russian and Chinese are instrumental. At the same time, the results showed that the conceptual image of the Mongolian world is more similar and closer to the Russian worldview than to English and Chinese. Respondents consider Russian to be an important and necessary language for getting a good education, achieving academic goals, traveling, and satisfying cultural needs. The analysis of the social perception of Mongolians regarding the importance of the Russian language today, the need to learn it, and the problems in the education system revealed that the main reasons for the deterioration of Russian language skills are primarily problems in the education system, the lack of language and competition with other foreign languages. At the same time, the majority of respondents (82%) believe that Mongolians need Russian language skills in modern conditions. The main factors contributing to the functioning of the Russian language in Mongolia are the prestige of the Russian language as a scientific and educational language, the territorial proximity of the two states, common historical moments, rich Russian culture and art. To solve the problems related to the Russian language, the majority proposes to improve the methodology of teaching Russian as a foreign language in the Mongolian education system and to update legal acts at the state and interstate levels.

Keywords: Russian language, evaluation characteristics, social representations, language attitudes, Mongolia