Multilingualism, Russian Language and Education in Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

The study provides an overview of the sociolinguistic situation in Kyrgyzstan and the current role of Russian and Kyrgyz in the republic. We present initial results of a mass survey of language use that show that the efforts to introduce the Kyrgyz language on all levels of societal use had some effect. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan is a multinational multilingual state with a high degree of mixed marriages and ethnic tolerance. To know the national language is prestigious and important, yet many Kyrgyz and representatives of other ethnicities prefer to have their children instructed mainly in Russian because Russian provides access to better education, employment, information, and economic advancement. Among the Kyrgyz, mastery of their own language is widespread, whereas for other peoples of Kyrgyzstan, understanding of the specific characteristics of the national ethnolinguistic identity is in the process of development.

Culture, Modernization, and Politics: Ethnic Differences in Union Formation in Kyrgyzstan

“…Yet, like most colonial cultural encounters, this interpenetration was grossly asymmetrical: Kyrgyz were forced to embrace the Russian culture and language, two pillars of the colonial modernizationist project, while Russian and other European-origin residents tended to view the Kyrgyz and other native cultures and languages as relics of the backward past that were soon to vanish in the all-transforming onslaught of modernity. Despite the inglorious burial of the Soviet modernizationist scheme, the ensuing massive out-migration of ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking members of other ethnic groups, and years of attempts at boosting the prominence of local languages and cultures, the Russian language (and to a large extent, the entire cultural complex that it has helped to shape and cement) retains its prestige and remains widely used by different ethnic groups, including the titular ones, in Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian societies (Landau and Kellner-Heinkele 2001;Orusbaev et al 2008).…”

Russian in post-Soviet countries

“…As in Kazakhstan, the educational and institutional policies of the Kyrgyz government have aimed at raising the levels of native language competence. As a result of these policies, by the academic year 2005-2006, only 7% of the secondary schools in Kyrgyzstan operated in Russian, and 16% offered bilingual instruction in Kyrgyz and Russian (Orusbaev et al 2008). These Russian-language schools are highly prestigious and in high demand by Russian parents and by those from other ethnic groups.…”

“…These Russian-language schools are highly prestigious and in high demand by Russian parents and by those from other ethnic groups. Higher education in Kyrgyzstan is available in several languages, with Russian-language education offered by the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University, the Kyrgyz-Russian Academy of Education, and the Kyrgyz-Russian Pedagogical Institute financed by Russia (MacWilliams 2003;Orusbaev et al 2008).…”

“…The increased emphasis on Kyrgyz, the shortages of Russian-language textbooks and teachers, combined with the emigration of ethnic Russians, other Slavs, and Germans, led to decreased levels of Russian-language competence among the younger population, in particular in rural areas (Korth 2005;Orusbaev et al 2008). According to the 1999 Kyrgyz Census, only 33% of the ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek speak Russian fluently, although among other ethnic groups the numbers are much higher (e.g., 81% Kazakhs, 98% Ukrainians) (http://www.stat.kg).…”

Student engagement in post-soviet higher education: coping with academic quality problems.

“…However, these analyses skipped the ground-level cognitive work necessary to validate the application of research-based theory in context and effectively influence practice (Schön, 1983;Trowler & Trowler, 2010). It would have been particularly challenging to directly administer NSSE instruments at the research site as the concept has yet to be explored in a post-Soviet context, and practitioners and students possess widely varying English, Kyrgyz, and Russian language competencies, rendering instrument translation ineffective (Aminov et al, 2010;Orusbaev, Mustajoki, & Protassova, 2008).…”