The position of Kazakh in Kazakhstan in the urban area: the case of Shymkent

Abstract

This paper discusses the status of Kazakh in Shymkent in recent years. Shymkent is the third-largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of over one million. Like in all large cities in this country, most of the Kazakh population in Shymkent is Kazakh-Russian bilingual, while the Russians are monolingual Russian speakers. The strength of Kazakh in Shymkent depends on many factors, such as the type of district, sociolinguistic features, and it is different in the spoken and the written form. Although Kazakh in Shymkent is the object of frequent comments in Kazakhstan, it has not yet been studied. The research material is based on fieldwork, analysis of the local media and websites. It may be argued that despite the local conditions and assets, the position of Kazakhs in public domains depends on the state’s language policy and the degree of integration with Russia.