Overview

Language contact between Russian and Kyrgyz speakers in the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic and in present day Kyrgyzstan has historically been a source of conflict. With independence, the young state began its search for a new identity in which language played a crucial role. Communicative and symbolic necessities therefore had to be considered in the formulation of an adequate language policy. This book describes the sociolinguistic processes in independent Kyrgyzstan from an ethno-linguistic perspective and gives an overview of language policy in both the Soviet Union and independent Kyrgyzstan. Drawing on 25 in-depth interviews and observations conducted during two years of fieldwork in Kyrgyzstan, the author explains why, in contrast to the status of titular languages in other former Soviet republics, the Kyrgyz language in Kyrgyzstan is still dominated by Russian after more than a decade of independence.

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9783039106059

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Reviews

-... Britta Korth's work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the post-Soviet linguistic situation in Kyrgyzstan, and readers interested in language revitalisation, and Central Asia, will find valuable information here.- (Kutlay Yagmur, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development)

... Britta Korth's work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the post-Soviet linguistic situation in Kyrgyzstan, and readers interested in language revitalisation, and Central Asia, will find valuable information here. (Kutlay Yagmur, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development)

Author Information

The Author: Britta Korth taught German at the Osh Sate University and the American University in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) between 1998 and 2000 (DAAD). She implemented and directed the «Multilingual Education Project» in Kyrgyzstan until 2003 for the NGO Cimera. After her work in Central Asia, she collaborated on an evaluation of the teaching of English in secondary schools in Geneva (Service de Recherche en Education). At the moment she is developing a project aiming at the introduction of bilingual education in Georgia and works as a German teacher in secondary education in Geneva.

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