The main factors of republican state languages vitality (on the material of Kabardian and Balkar languages)

Abstract

The article is devoted to some problems of the situation and prospects of state languages development, the vitality of which is one of the topical issues in the modern scientific community. The main aim of the study is to determine the functional and potential status of the Kabardian and the Balkar languages as the languages of the titular peoples of the multi-ethnic and multilingual Kabardino-Balkaria, in which these languages along with Russian are endowed with the legal status of the state language of the region. On the material of the conclusions and observations made after many years of authorial research on the functioning of the state languages of the republic, the problems of the real and potential capabilities of the state languages, the significance of their public functions distribution, the causes of the increasing tendency to reduce the level of language proficiency among their own speakers, the search of a harmonious way to develop the languages and cultures of Kabardian and Balkar peoples in the context of the Russian national identity consolidation process are actualized, etc. The article presents comparative empirical material that allows considering issues of state support of the language and its functional potential, demographic power and compactness of native speakers, the importance of the family and linguistic loyalty of members of the ethnic community in its development as indicators of the viability of the Kabardian and the Balkar languages. The revealed tendencies of the development of modern state languages of the titular peoples of the republic give grounds to conclude that the vitality of languages in the multi-ethnic Kabardino-Balkaria is determined by a number of factors that exert a powerful influence on their actual functioning and development prospects. It is emphasized that the state protection of languages, the number of speakers, the compactness of the residence of representatives of one ethnic group with one ethnic language are external indicators of the vitality of the Kabardian and the Balkar languages on the territory of the republic; and the internal factors of their vitality are due, first of all, to the functional-style preparedness of the Kabardian and the Balkar languages and the awareness of the importance of ethnic and linguistic self-identification by the speakers of the languages, which is motivated by their desire and interest to enhance the popularization of the language in areas where they are really in demand. In particular, it is asserted that the viability of the language is determined by the sphere of family communication and upbringing, and the strategy of its transfer is within the competence of the parents; therefore, it is very important to use the ethnic language as a priority language of communication in the family. The knowledge of the language by native speakers is a necessary condition for its development; in this respect, the education system is understood as a means of linguistic education and a lever for raising the level of knowledge of the Kabardian and the Balkar languages by which the richest spiritual ethnic culture and literature of the indigenous peoples of the republic are created. However, general and private conclusions of the work allow the authors to conclude that in the language and cultural diversity of Kabardino-Balkaria, the problems of language vitality are associated not only with their functional capacity and future development, but also with modern processes of globalization and integration in a rapidly developing information multi-ethnic society, functionally the first language is the Russian language as the language of inter-ethnic communication.