The influence of institutional discourses on linguistic self-determination in a multiethnic society

Abstract

The article analyses the interaction between the native language (Tatar) and the second language (Russian) in the linguistic consciousness of the Tatar-Russian bilingual, who lives in Southern Siberia in a multicultural society. The Russian language acts as a macro-intermediary language, being the official language of the country. The data was collected be means of a sociolinguistic questionnaire, designed by O.A. Kazakevich, and the Marian, Blumenfeld and Kaushanskaya bilingual language questionnaire adapted by the TSU Laboratory of Linguistic Anthropology. The survey was conducted in Tomsk and Tomsk Region (the villages of Eushta and Chernaya Rechka), and Novosibirsk Region – in the areas of compact residence of Tatar-Russian bilinguals. The number of the Tatar-Russian bilinguals interviewed during the survey is 133 people. The socio-linguistic information provided by the respondents makes it possible to distinguish between three groups of factors determining the Tatar and Russian interacting in various periods of their lives. The Tatar-Russian bilinguals adhere to the language they consider to be L1 (Tatar) notwithstanding the fact that it is turning to a heritage language with a restricted sphere of usage. With Russian taking the dominating position in social and professional communication, Tatar becomes the language of interpersonal communication between family members. Nevertheless, the Tatar language seems to play a pivotal role in determining the national identity by bilinguals.