Imperial legacies, nation building, and geopolitics: ethno-regional divides and the Russian language in Central Asia

Agadjanian, Victor; Nedoluzhko, Lesia

doi:10.1080/01419870.2021.1981966

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…A dominant language can "establish hegemony in language use" (Tollefson, 1991, p. 16) and win without written policies (Schiffman, 2002). Its success increases, especially in regions with ethnically heterogeneous communities (Agadjanian & Nedoluzhko, 2022).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Implementation and Impact of Language Policy: The Case of Kyrgyz Students

Mambetaliev¹

2023

AABP

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Language policy is crucial to any society's cultural and political fabric, as it shapes how individuals and groups communicate, interact, and identify. Language policy has important implications for nation-building and the creation of national identity. Language policy can also significantly impact university students' sense of belonging. Overt and inclusive policies can provide opportunities for students to develop language skills and cultural competencies, enhancing their academic and professional opportunities. Covert and implicit policies can create barriers to interaction between different language groups, leading to social fragmentation, exclusion, and discrimination. Overt language policies are those that are openly acknowledged and implemented, while covert policies are those that are more subtle and may be hidden. Overt language policies that promote a single national language can unite diverse groups within a nation. However, these policies can also lead to the suppression of linguistic and cultural diversity within a nation, potentially undermining the cultural richness of that society. Covert language policies can also have significant impacts on identity and national unity. For example, language policies not openly acknowledged can lead to confusion or mistrust among different language groups. These policies can reinforce power imbalances between language groups, perpetuating existing inequalities. Considering these concepts, this study aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What LP has been implemented in Kyrgyzstan? 2. How has LP affected university students? Information on the language policy implemented in Kyrgyzstan was necessary to answer the first question, which involved examining laws, banknotes, newspaper titles, and dissertation catalogs. It was necessary to gather data on how the language policy has affected the students to answer the second question. In addition, in-depth interviews with LP experts helped clarify both questions. The collected information was analyzed using textual analysis and statistical methods. Data analysis showed that different models of language policy were implemented in Kyrgyzstan, including multilingualism, bilingualism, and monolingualism. Overt, covert, and vague LP were used to promote these models. These models and methods have formed segregated communities, language discrimination, and different linguistic identities within the same ethnic groups.

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Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study aimed to identify and describe (1) the LP models and methods implemented in Kyrgyzstan; (2) the impact of the LP on current undergraduate students in prominent public universities. The following questions assessed the acceptability of this thesis and hypothesis: 1.…”

Section: Research Aim and Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation and Impact of Language Policy: The Case of Kyrgyz Students

Mambetaliev¹

2023

AABP

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“…Europeans also completed the demographic transition earlier than the two main native groups, which, along with their large-scale post-Soviet emigration from Kyrgyzstan, has led to the shrinking of their population share. Yet, the symbolic importance of their cultural imprint, most prominently represented by the Russian language, has endured, despite the growing efforts by the post-Soviet governments to promote the Kyrgyz language and culture ( Agadjanian & Nedoluzhko, 2021 ). In fact, previous research has identified not only a persistent net earnings advantage of Europeans over Kyrgyz, but also considerable variations within the titular ethnic group based on the degree of its members’ linguistic Russification: the use of the Russian language was associated with higher earnings among ethnic Kyrgyz (e.g., Agadjanian & Oh, 2020 ).…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group Normative Propensities, Societal Positioning, and Childbearing: Ethno-linguistic Variation in Completed and Desired Fertility in Transitional Central Asia

Agadjanian

Nedoluzhko²

2022

Popul Res Policy Rev

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Considerable research in western, low-fertility contexts has examined minority-vs.-majority fertility differentials, typically focusing on minority groups’ cultural idiosyncrasies and on socioeconomic disadvantages associated with minority status. However, the formation and functioning of ethnic complexities outside the western world often diverge from the standard western model and so may their impact on fertility preferences, behavior, and outcomes. We expand on the previous research by analyzing ethnic variation in completed and desired fertility in the multiethnic transitional setting of Kyrgyzstan, where ethnic groups and their ethnolinguistic sub-parts are characterized by both different stages of the demographic transition and different positioning in the socioeconomic and political hierarchies. Using combined data from two rounds of a nationally representative survey, we find that ethnic-specific levels of completed fertility generally align with culturally shaped group-level normative propensities. In contrast, in desires to have a(nother) child, the ranking of the ethnic segments is more reflective of their collective societal positioning, with more disadvantaged segments having lower fertility desires, regardless of actual number of children and various other characteristics. We also find that ethnic homophily of respondents’ social milieu and their optimism about the future of their ethnic group are positively associated with fertility desires, even though these associations are more potently present among women, compared to men. We relate our findings to the extant scholarship and reflect on their implications for a better understanding of ethno-racial fertility dynamics and differentials in transitional contexts.

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“…However, in non-Western multi-ethnic contexts, such as those of post-Soviet Central Asia, ethnic identities and corresponding divides do not fit into a similarly clear group ranking as these ethnic configurations have been shaped through a multilayered history of group societal re-positioning. In particular, the Russian ethnic and linguistic presence and corresponding cultural influences in the Central Asian region, established mainly during the Soviet period, that is, between the 1920s and 1980s, have endured beyond the collapse of the Soviet system, imprinting local ethnic identities, relations, and hierarchies (Agadjanian & Nedoluzhko, 2022a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Societal transitions, ethnolinguistic identities, and marital conservatism in Central Asia

Agadjanian,

Nedoluzhko

2023

J of Marriage and Family

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ObjectiveThe study deploys an ethnolinguistic conceptual framework to examine variations in different dimensions of marital conservatism in the Kyrgyz Republic, a post‐Soviet nation in Central Asia, focusing on enduring, yet evolving, Russian linguo‐cultural influence.BackgroundThe global transformation of family and marriage systems has produced diverse local normative patterns that are historically rooted but are also reflective of context‐specific contemporary socio‐cultural, political, and economic transitions. The study investigates these patterns in a multi‐ethnic setting where Soviet‐era legacies, culturally pivoted on the use of the Russian language, have combined with post‐Soviet exposure to both Western influences and rising neo‐traditionalism.MethodThe study uses data from two rounds of a nationally representative cross‐sectional household‐based survey, with each round including standardized interviews with over 2000 men and women aged 18–49. Multi‐level regression models are fitted to predict ethnolinguistic variations in attitudes toward premarital chastity, optimal marriage age, support for parental preeminence in marital decisions, support for ethnic endogamy, and opposition to divorce, while accounting for universal correlates of marital conservatism, such as education, religiosity, and urbanicity. For most outcomes, the analyses examine separately how these attitudes apply to women versus men.ResultsThe results demonstrate the persistent normative imprints of the Russian linguistic and cultural influence but also instructive variations in them across the specific outcomes. They also suggest an overall rise in some aspects of marital conservatism.ConclusionThe findings elucidate the unique multidimensional complexities of family and marital change in transitional Eurasia, yet also its similarities with other post‐colonial contexts.

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Imperial legacies, nation building, and geopolitics: ethno-regional divides and the Russian language in Central Asia

Cited by 4 publications

References 62 publications

Implementation and Impact of Language Policy: The Case of Kyrgyz Students

Implementation and Impact of Language Policy: The Case of Kyrgyz Students

Group Normative Propensities, Societal Positioning, and Childbearing: Ethno-linguistic Variation in Completed and Desired Fertility in Transitional Central Asia

Societal transitions, ethnolinguistic identities, and marital conservatism in Central Asia

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