ON THE PROBLEM OF NOMENCLATURE OF MARI IDIOMS
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6119-2022-3-55-68
The article discusses the nomenclature and classification of Mari idioms, which are recognized as one of the state languages in the Republic of Mari El alongside Russian. While some researchers believe that there is only one Mari language, others argue that there are multiple Mari languages. The article reviews the various names given to Mari idioms in Soviet and post-Soviet literature and concludes that the categorization of Hill Mari as a dialect or an independent language has largely been influenced by political factors, such as the desire of Hill Maris to have their idiom recognized as a separate language rather than a dialect. The author also conducted a sociolinguistic survey in a Moscow region Mari diaspora to determine how Mari speakers perceive their idioms. The survey found that the nomination of Mari idioms is largely based on the respondent's sub-ethnic identity and personal experience with members of other sub-ethnic groups, rather than the legal status of the idioms. The majority of respondents (56 %) indicated that there are “two Mari languages” while 24 % believed there are “several (more than two) Mari languages”. Only 20 % of respondents identified Mari as a single language, and this group was largely composed of Meadow Maris and natives of Bashkortostan.
Keywords: Mari language, Meadow-Eastern Mari language, Hill Mari language, literary language, legal status of the language
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Issue: 3, 2022
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: LINGUISTICS
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