LANGUAGE AS A NATION-BUILDING FACTOR IN KYRGYZSTAN
Abstract
In 1991, Kyrgyzstan, like all other Soviet republics, declared itself an independent state and embarked on the road of independence, democratization and radical economic reforms.
Its advance along this road was, to a great extent, complicated by its linguistic variety. In 1989, the ethnic minorities negatively respond-ed to the declaration, which made the Kyrgyz language the only state tongue: they interpreted this as an infringement on their linguistic and human rights. Any language is more than a means of communication—it is a linchpin of ethnic identity while the individual’s ability to realize his cultural and linguistic requirements is one of the basic human rights. This makes linguistic policy that takes account of the rights and interests of all ethnic groups a major part of nation-building.
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References
See: Jacob M. Landau, Barbara Kellner-Heinkel, Politics of Language in the Ex-Soviet Muslim States, Hurst and Com-pany, London, 2001, p. 109.
See: V.M. Alpatov, 150 iazykov i politika: 1917-2000, Moscow, 2000, pp. 62-63.
See: Ibid., pp. 190-191.
See: “Chego zhdat ot zakona ‘O gosiazyke’ (Nyneshniy variant zakonoproekta),” Delo No., 26 November, 2003.
See: Language Rights and Political Theory, ed. by Will Kymlicka and Alan Patten, Oxford University Press, New York,2003, pp. 5-6.
See: Osnovnye itogi pervoy natsional’noy perepisi naselenia Kyrgyzskoy Respubliki 1999 goda, Bishkek, 2000, p. 26.
See: A. Orusbaev, Iazykovaia zhizn Kirgizii, Ilim Publishers, Frunze, 1990, p. 56.
As distinct from Kyrgyzes, Russians and Uzbeks the respondents of other nationalities were grouped under the blanket term “others.”
See: Naselenie Kyrgyzstana. Itogi pervoi natsional’noy perepisi naselenia Kyrgyzskoy Respubliki 1999 goda v tablitsa-kh, Book 2, Bishkek, 2000, pp. 73-78.
The share of the respondents with higher and specialized secondary education is related to the number of all those polled.
he total share of the respondents with higher and specialized secondary education was 55.9%; the figure included those with incomplete higher education (5.7%).
The share of respondents with higher and specialized secondary education is related to the number of those polled.
See: Osnovnye itogi pervoy natsional’noy perepisi naselenia Kyrgyzskoy Respubliki 1999 goda, p. 43.
The share of the spouses is related to the total number of those polled.
The share of the respondents with children is related to the total number of those polled.
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