Schedule StuTS 70

The research addresses the issue of language policy in education in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. The majority of the people in this region identify themselves as Russians (All-Russian Census 2010), with Chukchi, Yupik, and Even ethnic groups recognized as indigenous minorities (Charter of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Art. 19). This means that their languages (Chukot, Yupik, and Even respectively) have to be developed and protected in every sphere, especially in education, which is one of the most common ways to preserve a language (Hinton 2018, 488). In addition, this has to be done in full accordance with the international language instruments ratified by Russia. This paper, therefore, focuses on 2 aspects: whether the legislation of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug fully corresponds to the international law and if the region’s language policy in education is what the authorities claim it to be.

Firstly, 5 international conventions, declarations, and treaties linked to the language policy in education and ratified by the Russian Federation have been analyzed to see in what framework the Russian law exists. Russia seems to have ratified all the major instruments linked to language policy in education except 2, and the reasons for that are discussed, too.

Secondly, 20 laws, decrees, orders, acts, and regulations of federal and regional governments on language policy in education have been perused to outline the “official,” or expected by policy makers, language situation in the region. This analysis then is compared to the international legal framework to see if there are any inconsistencies between them.

Finally, 10 in-depth semi-structured interviews have been carried out with native speakers of minority languages of Chukotka to understand whether the claimed language policy in education corresponds to the real language situation in the region. The analysis of the interviews shows that even though some attempts to preserve the Chukot, Yupik, and Even languages through education are made, they are mostly unsuccessful. Consequently, these languages are gradually disappearing from the daily lives of indigenous peoples.

The results of this research explain the correlation between the international and local language policies in education in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, as well as between “the expected” and the real language policy there. The language situation in the region is assessed, and a strategy of its improvement is outlined. This work can be used as a reference point for the analysis of language policy in education in other regions, as well as provide prospects for further research on the topic.

Info

Day: 2021-11-20
Start time: 13:30
Duration: 00:30
Room: 👾
Track: Sociolinguistics
Language: en

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