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Language and Languages in Siberia: Perspectives from Selkup, Ket, and Evenki Speakers

This paper presents outcomes of fieldwork focused on the language and languages of Selkup, Ket, and Evenki speakers in Western and Central Siberia. It explores topics such as local language varieties, language complexity and aesthetics, multilingualism, code-switching, language and ethnic identity, language functions, and mother tongue classes in local schools.

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Language and Languages in Siberia: Perspectives from Selkup, Ket, and Evenki Speakers

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  1. Selkup, Ket, and Evenki speakers’ ideas of the language and languages (based on fieldwork experience) Olga Kazakevich kazakevich.olga@gmail.com http://www.lcl.srcc.msu.ru Folk Linguistics, SPb, 20.11.2012

  2. The paper presents some outcomes of the fieldwork done in 43 settlements with autochthonous popuations of Western and Central Siberia in 2001-2012.

  3. The fieldwork was a part of language documentation projects being realized at the Laboratory for Computational Lexicography, Research Computer Centre, Lomonosov Moscow State University (http://www.lcl.srcc.msu.ru) and supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Researches, Russian Foundation for the Humanities and Yamalo-Nenets Centre for Arctic Researches.

  4. Regions of our fieldwork Krasnoselkup and Pur districtsof Yamalo-Nenets autonomous area; Turukhansk and Yeniseisk districts, Evenki and Taimyr municipal districts of Krasnoyarsk territory; Ket and Kargasok districts of Tomsk region

  5. Linguistic situation in the surveyed local communities

  6. In all the settlements, including those where the autochthonous population represent the overwhelming majority and where people still keep traditional way of life, the main means of communication both at home and in the community life is Russian.

  7. Children able to speak their ethnic language are scares. Though the ancestral language is regarded as desirable for children by the majority of parents, it is Russian that is considered absolutely obligatory

  8. The situation of language shift is today quite common for autochthonous communities of Siberia. Meanwhile, each surveyed settlement gives a new fragment and quite often a new dimension of the linguistic situation in the area.

  9. Selkup, Ket and Evenki speakers’ ideas of • local varieties of their ethnic languages, • comparative complexity and aesthetic hierarchy of the vernaculars used in each particular local community, • multilingualism, • code-switching and code-mixing, • the relation of language and ethnic identity, • language functions, • mother tongue classes at local schools.

  10. Local varieties of languages Practically all speakers of Selkup, Ket and Evenki are aware of local differentiation of their ethnic language. Quite often people regard the local variety of their own as pure and correct and other varieties as spoilt. Sometimes the ‘incorrectness’ of the speech of neighbouring communities is explained as a result of linguistic contacts.

  11. Comparative complexity and aesthetic hierarchy of the vernaculars spoken in the community Complexity: Ket> Selkup > Evenki Aesthetics: Selkup> Ket

  12. Multilingualism Multilingualism is respected: “Those who speak two languages are bright, they have a better understanding of life (their ears are clear)”.

  13. At the same time, the prejudice that to learn the language of the majority, which gives access to education, professional career and prosperity, is only possible abandoning the ancestral language is still wide-spread both inside and outside ethnic minority groups, it is wide-spread in different social strata including educational authorities.

  14. Code-switching Code-switching is widely spread. There is practically no conversation in autochthonous languages without Russian intrusions. People check it themselves.:“Now we speak a sort of a mixed language: we say something in our language and then something in Russian, we chose what is more comfortable for us.

  15. Language and ethnic identity “I am Selkup | Ket | Evenki, so my mother toungue is Selkup | Ket | Evenkithough I cannot speak it” “I speak only Russian, so I am Russian, what else can I be”.

  16. Language functions Keeping secrets: ethnic language is valued by their speakers as a means of secret communication. Preserving people’s history: “Let my word go farther to my great grandchildren, may it remain after I am gone to the ancestors”

  17. Mother tongue classes at local schools The majority of our respondents want their ethnic language to be taught to the children at school , but practically no one is pleased with the way it is being done now. They don’t like the language variety of the textbooks (“the language of the text books is deadt”.) People would prefer their local variety to be taught.”

  18. Thank you!

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