Cultural and Linguistic Minorities in the Russian Federation and the European Union: Comparative Studies on Equality and Diversity

347 Pages·2015·7.078 MB·English

by  Heiko F. Marten, Michael Rießler, Janne Saarikivi, Reetta Toivanen (eds.)

Multilingual Education
Heiko F. Marten
Michael Rießler
Janne Saarikivi
Reetta Toivanen Editors
Cultural and
Linguistic Minorities
in the Russian
Federation and the
European Union
Comparative Studies on Equality
and Diversity
Multilingual Education
Volume 13
Series editors
Andy Kirkpatrick
Department of Languages and Linguistics, Griffith University,
Brisbane, Australia
Bob Adamson
Head, Department of International Education & Lifelong Learning,
Hong Kong Institute of Education, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR
Editorial Board
Jan Blommaert, University of Tilburg, The Netherlands
Feng Anwei, University of Wales at Bangor, UK
Ofelia Garcia, The Graduate Centre, City University of New York, USA
Saran Kaur Gill, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Gu Yueguo, The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Hartmut Haberland, Roskilde University, Denmark
Li Chor Shing David, The Hong Kong Institute of Education
Li Wei, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK
Low Ee-Ling, National Institute of Education, Singapore
Tony Liddicoat, University of South Australia
Ricardo Nolasco, University of the Philippines at Diliman, Manila,
The Philippines
Merrill Swain, Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto,
Canada
Virginia Yip Choy Yin, Chinese University of Hong Kong
The book series Multilingual Education publishes top quality monographs and
editedvolumes containingempirical researchonmultilingual languageacquisition,
languagecontactandtherespectiverolesoflanguagesincontextswherethelanguages
arenotcognateandwherethescriptsareoftendifferent,inordertobeabletobetter
understandtheprocessesandissuesinvolvedandtoinformgovernmentsandlanguage
policy makers. The volumes in this series are aimed primarily at researchers in
education,especiallymultilingualeducationandotherrelatedfields,andthosewho
are involvedin the education of(language) teachers. Otherswho will beinterested
include key stakeholders and policy makers in the field of language policy and
education. The editors welcome proposals and ideas for books that fit the series.
For more information on how you can submit a proposal, please contact the
publishingeditor,JolandaVoogd.E-mail:[email protected]
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8836
ß
Heiko F. Marten Michael Rie ler
(cid:129)
Janne Saarikivi Reetta Toivanen
(cid:129)
Editors
Cultural and Linguistic
Minorities in the Russian
Federation and the European
Union
Comparative Studies on Equality
and Diversity
123
Editors
Heiko F.Marten JanneSaarikivi
Department of German Helsinki CollegiumforAdvanced Studies
TallinnUniversity Universityof Helsinki
Tallinn Helsinki
Estonia Finland
Michael Rießler Reetta Toivanen
Department of ScandinavianStudies The ErikCastrén Institute
Universityof Freiburg Universityof Helsinki
Freiburg Helsinki
Germany Finland
ISSN 2213-3208 ISSN 2213-3216 (electronic)
ISBN 978-3-319-10454-6 ISBN 978-3-319-10455-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-10455-3
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014951911
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2015
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionor
informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief
excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the
purposeofbeingenteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthe
work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of
theCopyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must
always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the
CopyrightClearanceCenter.ViolationsareliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt
fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of
publication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityfor
anyerrorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,with
respecttothematerialcontainedherein.
Printedonacid-freepaper
SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com)
This book is dedicated to all the activists in
different parts of Europe and Russia who
have contributed to our research with both
critical and constructive insights,
people fighting for a brighter future
for small language groups, unafraid of the
hard work and the dangers inherent in this
paramount task.
Preface
Russia, its languages and its ethnic groups are for many readers of English
surprisingly unknown territory. Even among academics and researchers familiar
with many ethnolinguistic situations around the globe, there prevails rather
unsystematic and fragmented knowledge about Russia. This relates to both the
micro level such as the individual situations of specific ethnic or linguistic groups,
and to the macro level with regard to the entire interplay of linguistic practices,
ideologies,laws,andotherpoliciesinRussia.Intotal,thislackofinformationabout
Russia stands in sharp contrast to the abundance of literature on ethnolinguistic
situations, minority languages, language revitalization, and ideologies toward lan-
guagesandmultilingualismwhichhasbeenpublishedthroughoutthepastdecades.
Aims of the Book
This book aims at bridging the gap between the lack of studies on minority lan-
guages and language policies in Russia published in English and the highly com-
plexsituationoflanguagesandminoritiesinRussia,whichinitsdiversitydeserves
asmuchattentionasallotherregionsoftheworld.Thechapterauthorsanalyzethe
fates of minority languages in Russia and the whole Russian Federation and at the
same time mirror the situation in Russia on a neighboring region whose linguistic
diversity has received by far more attention in academic writing in English and
other Western languages—the European Union. The book thereby aims at famil-
iarizing the readers with assumingly little-known contents by comparing different
minorities and indigenous groups within the Russian Federation, but also relates
theseanalysestoaframeworkthatwillbemuchbetterknownformostreaders.The
central question addressed by the authors contributing to this volume is how
minority languages and minority language communities can survive in circum-
stances with traditional communities dispersing and new types of superdiverse
ecolinguistic systems simultaneously emerging. At the same time, the book relates
to the increasing awareness of the cultural value of endangered languages and the
vii
viii Preface
benefits of multilingualism among many academics, in civil society, and in some
political circles, although the political debates regarding the need for language
protection continue and, in many countries, often take a fearful and hesitant tone.
The lack of knowledge about Russia among many Western researchers dealing
with minority issues or questions of multilingualism is certainly, among other
reasons,heavilybasedonthelimitedaccesstoinformationonRussia—eventhough
more than 20 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Major
obstacles in this are the lack of Russian language skills, and at the same time the
only slowly increasing academic exchanges between Russian and Western aca-
demics. The small number of scholars who, in Western academic circles, read
Russian—a language which is the mother tongue of approximately 144 million
speakers and a second language or language of higher education by another
120–130 million individuals—is a clear indicator of the “otherness” of the dis-
course on minorities and languages in Russia and other post-Soviet countries. At
the same time, even though knowledge of English in Russia and other countries
with a high proportion of Russophones is increasing, there are few international
publications providing research-based (as opposed to official or census-based)
information on the situation of minority languages in Russia written by scholars
with an access to the Western (European) academic semiosphere. This state of
affairshasnotonlybeencausedbythelanguagebarrier.Theideologicaldividethat
formorethansevendecadesprevailedbetweenmanyWesternandSovietacademic
communities has had consequences also on possible objects of academic study, as
well as on available research materials and common methods of research
implementation.
Since the main aim of the book is to contribute to spreading information about
Russia, the focus of the chapters is on studies of situations in the Russian Feder-
ation,bothfromindividualandcontrastiveperspectives.ThepartsontheEuropean
Union are to be understood as additional information which provides a reference
frame for the situations in Russia. The single chapters are meant to complement
eachother—eventhoughwrittenbydifferentauthors,ithasbeentheexplicitaimto
perceive the entire book as one unit, which sheds light on its major topic from
differentangles.Thecontributionsaretherebyconcernedwithsocio-political,legal,
and ideological processes which contribute to language loss or maintenance and
revitalization of particular minority identities and languages. The case studies
elaborate the multifarious factors that contribute to situations in which minority
languages cease to be used in certain social contexts, move to other domains of
sociallife,disappearandperishor,sometimes,arereinforcedandrevitalizedinnew
domains of use. Consequently, many articles are of multidisciplinary nature,
including aspects of linguistics as well as political and social sciences. The con-
tributions thus tackle the question as to what are the essential components of
cultural and linguistic survival in the twenty-first century from many different
angles. The authors of this volume therefore wish to demonstrate how different
politics,languagepolicies,andsocioculturalcircumstancescausevariousoutcomes
fortheprospectsofminoritylanguagecommunitiesbutalsothattherearelimitsto
how these outcomes can be related to similar developments in other contexts.
Preface ix
Background and Content of the Book
Thescholarswhohavecontributedtothisbookhavebeenengagedinjointresearch
activities aiming at enhancing understanding between Russian and Western aca-
demic discourses. Most of these activities have taken place within an informal
interdisciplinary research network called Poga—The Language Survival Network.
This network was founded in 2007 as a body uniting scholars specializing in
questions relating to minority languages and ethnicity in the European Union, the
Russian Federation and other Eurasian countries. The members of the network
represent different academic disciplines such as linguistics, sociology of language,
history, ethnic and revitalization research, indigenous studies, legal anthropology,
human rights, political science, and minority protection law. The network lays
emphasisonacomparativeresearchapproachandfosterscooperationandexchange
of ideas between scholars with Russian and non-Russian backgrounds. One of its
main objectives is also to empower researchers of Russian origin working among
their own minorities to become more successful in their work through a better
knowledge of minority situations and policies elsewhere. The network members
have been interested in understanding the diversity of elements that positively
influence the commitment of minorities to promote and maintain their languages
andcultures.Atthesametime,theresearchersareinterestedtoidentifyfactorsthat
inevitably have had a negative impact on the “cultural survival” of minority
communities. Central to the network’s activities are also its emphasis on Russia
and the simultaneous, comparative and interdisciplinary approach to minority
communities.
Some of the contributions to this volume are based on papers which were
first presented on the network’s first symposium which took place in Lovozero
(Murmansk oblast, Russia) in 2007, other papers were initially presented at sym-
posiainInari(Finland)in2009,Petrozavodsk(KarelianRepublic,Russia)in2009,
inMariehamn(Åland Islands) in2010andTallinn(Estonia)in2010.Drafts ofthe
contributions were continuously circulating among network members, who col-
laborativelydiscussedtheircontentandsuggestedadditions,improvementsandup-
dates in order to best fit into the general topic of this book.
Thebookcontains12chapterswhicharegroupedintothreeparts.Thefirstpart
with thetitleLanguages,Identities and Human Rights includes three contributions
thatdealwithgeneralissuesrelatedtominoritylanguagemaintenance.Itisopened
by the introductory chapter “Change and Maintenance of Plurilingualism in the
Russian Federation and the European Union” by Janne Saarikivi and Reetta
Toivanen. The chapter provides an overview of important contexts in which
minoritylanguagedeclineandmaintenancetakesplaceinRussia,contrastedtothe
countriesoftheEuropeanUnion.Theauthorsdiscussquestionsrelatedtolanguage
extinction and maintenance in Russia, and highlight in which way they are similar
to or different from languages in other geographical and cultural contexts. The
chapter also introduces central theoretical viewpoints on language endangerment
x Preface
and maintenance and scrutinizes the ways in which members of the rapidly
changing communities of the twenty-first century use minority languages.
The introduction is followed by Suzanne Romaine’s contribution on “The
GlobalExtinctionofLanguagesandItsConsequencesforCulturalDiversity.”This
chapter provides an overview of the phenomenon of language death and its con-
sequencesforhumanityataglobalscale.Theauthorpointsoutthat50–90%ofthe
world’s 6,900 languages are predicted to be extinct by the end of this century.
Because a large part of any language is culture-specific, people feel that an
important part of their traditional culture and identity is also lost when their lan-
guage disappears.
ThethirdchapterbyTheodoreS.Orlinon“TheDeathofLanguages;theDeath
of Minority Cultures; the Death of a People’s Dignity” discusses the extinction of
minority languages and cultures from a human rights law perspective. It explores
the question of when the loss of language may constitute a violation of human
rights and by its negative impact on minority cultures may threaten democratic
principles. The author points out that where state policy and/or action reflect the
preferenceofitsmajorityattheexpenseoftheminority,thenconcernsareraisedas
to the protection of human dignity and identification of a minority.
Part II of the book is called Case Studies on Cultural Change and Minority
Language Maintenance. It consists of studies describing challenges and problems
relatedtoindividualsituationsofminoritylanguageandculturemaintenance.Allof
thesestudiesindicateinwhichwaytherearesimilarissuesonminoritylanguagesat
stake both in the European Union and in the Russian Federation.
Five chapters are included in this part. The fourth chapter by Reetta Toivanen
discusses “Obstacles and Successes” for minority language activism among the
SorbsinGermanyandtheSámiinFinland.Itaddressesproblemsfacedbyminority
representativeswhentheyactonbehalfoftheminoritygroup.Lookingatthecases
of the Sorbian minority in Lower and Upper Lusatia in Germany and the Sámi
home territory in Finnish Lapland, the author argues that the representatives of
minoritiesfacesevereproblemsintryingtokeepabalancebetweenanauthenticity
acknowledged by the majority (state) and an authenticity recognized by the
members of the minority.
The fifth chapter “Fallen Ill in Political Draughts” by Indrek Jääts deals with
changes in social status among the users of Komi-Permyak. The main problem in
preserving and developing this language has always been the weakness of the
Komi-Permyaks’ethnicidentitywhichhasevenbeen described asethnicnihilism,
andtherelatedbelittlingattitudetowardtheirownlanguage,causedbyaninterplay
ofdifferent historical factors,and,toalarge extent,policies onnationalitiesbythe
Russian state. Despite these processes, however, tens of thousands of Komi-
Permyaksarestilllivingcompactlyintheirvillages.Thechapterdiscussestherole
of the language and culture today in relation to urban and rural settings.
Thesixthchapteron“FinnicMinoritiesofIngria”byNataliaKuznetsova,Elena
Markus, and Mehmed Muslimov is dedicated to the complex analysis of the lan-
guage situation in contemporary Ingria by paying major attention to Ingrians and
Votes. The authors present a summary of the results of their extensive