“Language nests”: the rebirth of the language (on the example of the Inari-Sami and Karelian languages)

Abstract

Introduction. The article considers the problems of the revival of languages of small peoples. The subject of the study is the experience of linguists in the revitalization of national languages at a specific location in the Republic of Karelia (village Vedlozero) and Finland (village Inari). Materials and Methods. The material of the study is based on the data published in the monograph of the Finnish linguist A. Pasanen and taken from the speeches of N. P. Barmina, an activist of the Union of the Karelian People, obtained in the media and from her personal conversations with of the author of the article. When processing the information, the author employs such methods as comparative, analytical and synthetic. Results and Discussion. Language revitalization primarily includes such measures of language support as description of the grammatical and lexical structure of the language, fixation of phonetic features, documentation of linguistic material of folklore texts and everyday descriptions, etc. At the same time, it requires enormous efforts on individual level from the cultural and linguistic community, and on the community level from the public organizations, educational institutions and government authorities. One of the most effective ways to revive national languages is language training centers. The way they are organized and work are considered on the example of “language nests” in Finland and Karelia. Conclusion. Based on the measures to save the Finnish language by L. Kotilainen, the author of the publication proposed her own system for the preservation of national languages, which does not always require mandatory state support and funding, although in no case excludes it. In particular, it is proposed to create a network of free language webinars, to organize competitions for the best blogs made in ethno-language, the best master of words who came up with the most successful equivalent of a Russian word.

Keywords

• a national language
• the karelian language
• inari-sami
• revitalization
• a language nest
• measures to save the language