Oriental Studies (Nov 2022)
Buryat-Russian Bilingual Speech: Problem-Solving Mechanisms Analyzed
Abstract
Introduction. The article analyzes problem-solving mechanisms occurring in Buryat-Russian bilingual oral speech, the former being universal communicative strategies that enable bilinguals to construct and maintain Buryat language communication in the absence of some language resources and skills. Goals. The study attempts an analysis of extensive speech materials that include certain problem-solving mechanisms and aims at describing features of bilingual speech and essentials of social bilingualism from across the territories of ethnic Buryatia, as well as at showing analyses of such mechanisms be rewarding for explorations of Buryat-Russian bilingualism. Material and methods. The work examines recordings (speech narratives) of Tükherig TV Quiz Show (2019–2020) to have been attended by 285 bilinguals from different areas of ethnic Buryatia and with differing Buryat language proficiency levels. Speech portraits of the bilinguals contain details of their speech behavior individually indicating a certain problem faced and a mechanism employed to solve the latter. Reference editions prove instrumental in assessing efficiency of each specific mechanism activated and calculating correlations between age characteristics of the informants and task fulfillment rates, including actual communication language choices. Results. The paper reveals quite a number of various problem-solving mechanisms, identifies their activation reasons and logic. The narratives — though specific enough — make it possible to delineate features of social bilingualism in the region. Conclusions. The observations vividly confirm and illustrate findings of other researchers as to that the region’s communication paradigm is distinctly two-coded, with large layers of Buryat vocabulary remaining passive for Buryat-Russian bilinguals. This results in that though actively used basic words enable bilinguals to generate utterances in Buryat, the latter largely prove inaccurate and demonstrate no semantic diversity.
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