ETHNOCULTURAL AND LANGUAGE POLICY IN CHUVASHIA: EXPERT OPINION

DOI: 10.47026/2712-9454-2021-2-4-81-93

УДК 323.1(470.344)«20»

ББК Т3(2Рос.Чув)64-38

Ivan I. BOYKO

Key words

ethno-cultural development, expert community, voluntary study of native languages, population census, complex ethnic and linguistic identity, national and cultural associations.

Abstract

The article analyzes the opinion of the expert community on a number of problems concerning the ethnocultural development and language policy in Chuvashia. The survey was conducted in 15 regions of the country using the tools developed at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology under the Russian Academy of Sciences. In autumn 2020, 30 experts expressed their opinion, they represented equally the sphere of state and municipal administration, science, higher education, the media, as well as national cultural associations and other public organizations. Much attention of the experts was directed to the ways and methods of implementing the amendments to the Constitution of Russia in Chuvashia adopted in 2020, including by expanding the opportunities of regional legislation in the field of ethno-cultural development. Different points of view are expressed on such subjects as the legislative strengthening of the Chuvash language in the public space, the decision to switch to voluntary study of native languages in educational institutions, the possibility of state and public support for native languages of various peoples, etc. The attitude to such innovations was determined during the All-Russian Population Census as the ability of citizens to name themselves as representatives of more than one nationality and to name not one native language but more, to determine the extent of using other languages in everyday life other than Russian. The opinion of experts on the place and role of national cultural associations in the work on the ethno-cultural direction was studied. On a number of issues, experts expressed an integrated opinion, including supporting the cultural needs of the old-time and newly arriving population, on the need to consider native languages as belonging to traditional family values, on the possibility of identifying the level of language use in everyday life during the population census, etc. At the same time, quite opposite opinions were expressed on a number of issues. For example, this is in reference to the possibility to consider oneself a person belonging not to one, but, for example, to two ethnic identities during the population census, about the activity of national and cultural associations when discussing the amendments to the Constitution of Russia, etc.

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Information about the author

Ivan I. Boyko – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Department of Document Science, Information Resources and Auxiliary Historical Disciplines, Chuvash State University; Chief Researcher, Chuvash State Institute of Humanitarian Sciences, Russia, Cheboksary (boyko2003@yandex.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9202-615X).

For citations

Boyko I.I. ETHNOCULTURAL AND LANGUAGE POLICY IN CHUVASHIA: EXPERT OPINION. Historical Search, 2021, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 81–93. DOI: 10.47026/2712-9454-2021-2-4-81-93 (in Russian).

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