Indigenous language education in Russia: current issues and challenges

ABSTRACT

Despite the high number of recognised Indigenous groups who are struggling to maintain their languages, cultures, and identities in Russia, there is little research done on the matters of cultural and linguistic revitalisation. This study sought to address this gap by exploring the views of two Indigenous groups, Karelian and Mari, on the development of their Indigenous languages and educational strategies to protect and revive their languages. The study relied on in-depth one-on-one interviews with 20 participants, ten from each Indigenous group. The findings show that despite older generations’ relative proficiency and interest in their respective Indigenous languages, motivation to master them is fading among younger Indigenous populations. There is also a lack of opportunities to learn the languages including informal settings despite protections within the federal legal system. The participants identified three reasons for the rapid decrease of language speakers that include assimilation of the Indigenous groups, differences in rural and urban development, and globalisation. The article concludes with recommendations on how to revitalise Indigenous languages in Russia.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous languages
• Indigenous language education
• Russia
• plurilingualism

Acknowledgements

This paper has been supported by the Kazan Federal University Strategic Academic Leadership Program.

Disclosure statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding university did not influence the study at any stage and did not ask to nor was offered to approve the manuscript or any part of it.