Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy (Mar 2018)
Tuvan language as means of communication among Tuvans: Problems and prospects
Abstract
The functioning of Tuvan language in the Republic of Tuva and its preservation, as well as the level of the linguistic competence of Tuvans and linguistic continuity – all of these factors are now accompanied by a host of problems. Reviews of sociolinguistic studies in Tuva, from the 1960s to our days, have shown the undying urgency of academic research of the ever increasing acuteness of these issues. The article presents the outcomes of a sociolinguistic study of the linguistic situation in Tuva (2016). The study was focused on measuring the linguistic competence of Tuvans in the command of their mother tongue and analyzing its dependence on various social and demographic indicators. The study was based on the survey of 2500 Tuvan respondents of various age groups within the working age and held by the staff researchers from the Sector of Language, Tuvan Institute for Humanities and Applied Socio-Economic Studies. The outcomes of the survey reveal a marked dependence on the historical and generational factors. The elder generation’s (aged 50-60) linguistic competence was formed in the period when Tuvan schools (through Grade 7) taught all subjects in Tuvan. This played the crucial role in their command of Tuvan literary language and its norms. Respondents aged 14-18 showed a weaker command of the language, with 15% of them deeming the preservation of Tuvan language unnecessary. This substantial gap in attitudes is due to change in the linguistic situation and the increasing importance of the Russian language in contemporary Tuva. The younger generation recognizes the social prestige of the mother tongue. Tuvan language failed to find wide use in public administration and bookkeeping. Of all mass media, Tuvan is mainly used in newspapers. Tuvan speakers show no determination to stop the transfer of the mother tongue to younger generations, but they consider it important that they should master the Russian language, as the education is now offered in Russian only. The author believes that it would be wrong to put up with the status quo. Teaching language should be started in early childhood, with the leading role belonging to communication within the family, pre-school and school education.
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