Each language shapes its own culture within a country by allowing people to create an unique identity. Migration from other places, from history, has contributed to the richness in diversity of cultures, ethnicities and most importantly, languages, in developed countries. Prominently in Russia, the native people acquire descent from numerous ethnicities around the world such as Turks, Iranians, early Mongols, Turks, Jews, and Samoyeds (Central Intelligence Agency). Due to the vast cultural influences that impact Russian culture, distinct languages and cultures were bound to emerge from these outside influences from history.
Currently, there are over 180 minority languages developed in Russia (BBC). While there is evident language diversity in Russia, the main language that the majority of the population speaks is Russian (BBC). Russia is currently undergoing a massive case of cultural assimilation where the language and Russian ‘culture’ is ideally centralized while ignoring the diversity that shaped Russian ‘culture’ first (Bridge). Globalization and urbanization driven by technology leads people to give up their traditional languages plus culture.
People are inclined to switch to a different language and give up their heritage altogether if it ensures social and economic stability (Seyfeddinipur). Although acculturation to national languages provides simple adaption to predominant culture and lifestyles, language and cultural assimilation in Russia (such as centralization of the national language to Russian) yields significant problems such as endangerment of minor Russian languages, cultural identity loss, and the destructive system of Russification.
Minor Russian languages are on the brink to becoming endangered due to mass assimilation to popular culture in Russia. Tuvan, a minor Russian language, acquires an average of 235,000 native speakers (Rymer). While it is not currently an endangered language, Tuvan is flirting between the line of staying as a stable language and becoming endangered. Today, Tuvanians must learn to speak Russian in order to communicate in Russian areas out of their Tuvanian communities. (Rymer).
Even the residents in Tuva are encouraged to learn and speak Russian, rather than their native language, to thrive in Russia. In an increasingly globalized age, languages spoken in small communities and remote areas aren’t protected by any boundaries from the languages that dominate world communication. With mass media such as television or internet, major languages are promoted and often encourage people to assimilate by speaking the same language to feel more ‘connected’ to society. In fact, the North Caucasus region in Russia suffers significant language endangerment.
Over forty languages in this region are in risk of becoming extinct even though the Caucasus region experiences linguistic diversity (Peterson). Many of the Caucasian languages are starving out from the lack of native speakers – an inadequate amount of of 1,000 Archi speakers in the Dagestani Kills, Hunzib speakers of 1, 839, and Tindi speakers of 6,000 (UNESCO). While there are other languages that are more in number, such as Kaardian or Chechen, they are at risk by the dominance of the central language, Russia. It’s [Language endangerment] as bad as it’s ever been in [the North Caucasus],” says Victor Friedman, a Slavic language specialist at the University of Chicago.
Russian culture threatens the existence of minor languages in Russia due to mass communication that requires a centralized language while gradually eliminating lesser-known languages. Loss of cultural identity within communities is occurring in Russia because of cultural assimilation to a unified language system. Language hold a great importance when it comes to understanding the culture of certain groups of people.
Language is naturally inherent to the expression of culture. As a crucial method to communicating values, beliefs and customs, it has an important social function and stimulates feelings of group identity and consensus (Endangered Languages Project). It is the means by which culture and its traditions and shared values may be conveyed and preserved. Certain words in a language hold several unique meanings to that contribute to the culture of a community. In Tuvan, a minor Russian language, there are numerous words that are untranslatable to Russian or English.
University students from Kyzyl explain what khoj ozeeri means, which is an untranslatable word in Tuvan. Khoj ozeeri means the slaughtering of an animal but in an intimate way. In the language of the Tuvan people, khoj ozeeri does not only mean to slaughter an animal but it is an intimate ceremony where a family kills, skins, and butchers a sheep by which a family can kill, skin, and butcher a sheep in an intricate process. The sheep must be cut and cleansed neatly without spilling any blood.
The word, Khoj ozeeri, insinuates a relationship between the natives and animals and additionally, a way to measure a person’s character. One of the university students explains the importance of that word, “If a Tuvan killed an animal the way they do in other places”—by means of a gun or knife—“they’d be arrested for brutality. (Rymer). Just like in the Tuvan language, different languages express diverse varieties of human experience in everyday life while we tend to believe of as settled and universal concepts – such as color, time, numbers, and places.
Dr. Mandana Seyfeddinipur, director of SOAS World Languages Institute, elucidates this notion through Ted Talk video, “These languages are vanishing and we’re losing this knowledge encoded in the practices of these communities all over the world. The language that we are speaking structures the world . . . and influences how we perceive our environment” (Seyfeddinipur). If minor languages, which hold unique ideals and concepts, disappear, then cultural identity that was established from the language will eventually disappear along with it.
Assimilation to a centralized language is increasingly present in Russia. While assimilation to one language provides a main system that allows society to function “smoothly”, it removes portions of a culture that natives identify with. Cultural identity is a significant part of history because people associate with their upbringing and their culture they take part in. If people in Russia are convinced to learn Russian and neglect their own minor language, this action can yield consequences like the loss of their own cultural identity.
Assimilation to dominant Russian culture, such as learning the Russian language, poses threatening consequences like the impact of Russification. Russification is a form of cultural assimilation process during which non-Russian communities, voluntarily or not, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian one (Trueman). The term refers to both official and unofficial policies for national minorities in Russia, aimed at Russian domination. Russification was constructed in 1770 and still continues today in present-day Russia.
Most of these “non-Russian” communities are areas that seceded from Russia but maintain strong Russian culture. Current Russian president, Vladimir Putin, supports Russification to the extent of forcing former Russian areas to accept the dominant Russian culture and learn the central language, Russian. Putin reiterates the seemingly positive aspect of Russification,“This civilizational identity is based on preservation of Russian cultural dominance, which is not only carried by ethnic Russians, but all carriers of this identity regardless of nationality.
This is the cultural code that has, in the recent years, been subject to some serious trials, which people have tried and continue to try to break” (Bridge). While Russification displays a sense of unity within the country and other surrounding areas, imposing a different culture or language on a group of people removes their culture they have established within their own community. Especially in other countries, like Ukraine, Russian government constantly attempts to enforce the Russian language upon them.
While Ukrainian is the official language in Ukraine, Russian is widely used in Ukraine with an overwhelming amount of 8. 3 million Russian speakers, according to the Russian census (Minority Rights Group International). Not just with language There have been escalating efforts, like government policies, to drive Russian influence out of Ukraine. In contrast to official government policies, the Russian language is widely used on television and the circulation of Russian language newspapers and magazines are high all over the country.
This displays how Russification is continuously enforced to this day. The dangers of Russification aren’t immediate but equally hold high risks. Russification, when exposed to a community of people for a period of time. allow change in language or self-identity of non-Russian peoples or minor communities that reside in Russia to follow the main Russian culture. The enforced Russification of Russia’s indigenous minorities has intensified particularly during the Soviet era and continues with reduction in the 21st century, especially in connection to urbanization and modernization of Russian culture.
As a result, many of Russia’s indigenous languages and cultures are currently considered endangered. The system of Russification obtains damaging outcomes like the elimination of indigenous cultures in its entirety. Ultimately, assimilation to the main culture and language in Russia produces consequences such as depletion of minor Russian languages, cultural identity loss, and sustaining the damaging system of Russification.
