Russian remains the official language of Kyrgyzstan, with the exception of the CIS countries. However, the linguistic environment in Central Asia is also changing, and the local population is demanding a greater role in the national language. This has led to a paradox in Kyrgyzstan: on the one hand, Russian-speaking citizens increasingly feel alienated; on the other hand, ethnic Kyrgyz people complain of not being able to obtain a good education or decent work in their mother tongue.
Never thought of speaking fluent Kyrgyz
Kyrgyz girl Yulia Shushlepina was born in the Kante region of Kyrgyzstan, and although she has always stressed that she does not speak Kyrgyz, there are still many people who try to talk to her in Kyrgyz.
Yulia followed her father to fill in the Uzbek form on the ethnic field of her identity card, but she was brought up by her Russian mother and grandmother, so she did not know Uzbek.
Yulia Shushrepina
Among the nearly 100 ethnic groups living in Kyrgyzstan, in addition to the main ethnic group, the Kyrgyz ethnic group, the Uzbek and Russian ethnic groups also account for a large proportion. Russian has been the lingua franca of the region since the Soviet era.
Yulia, 28, spent some of her childhood in Russia and only started learning Kyrgyz as a foreign language after returning to Kyrgyzstan, taking classes twice a week, but she never wanted to speak fluent Kyrgyz because her family and friends speak Russian.
Frunze or Bishkeks?
The city of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, was known as Frunze during the Soviet era and was tacitly referred to as the "City of the Russians" because until 1999 there were more ethnic Russians than Kyrgyz ethnic groups.
At that time, Frunze could not be promoted or joined the party without knowing Russian. The vast majority of schools in the city teach in Russian.
This linguistic environment began to change in the 1960s, thanks to the higher birth rate and internal migration of Kyrgyz people – more aggressively moving to the capital.
Since independence, the Kyrgyz language has been actively promoted in Kyrgyzstan. In the capital's central square, a statue of the national hero Manas replaced the Lenin Monument; the streets and even the capital itself were renamed, billboards and TELEVISION ads had to be spoken in both languages; and the government allocated a special budget for the development of the Kyrgyz language in its country, amounting to nearly $7 million in 2015-2020.
Chinese guist Elionora Proyaeva said: "During the Soviet era, Kyrgyz was still a dialect and family language, but as the country gained independence, it gradually returned to the public eye, the streets were full of Kyrgyz, and it became natural to see the signs and words written in it, and there was no longer a need for a Russian translation." ”
The Russian language is losing its former status, in part because of the emigration of Russians from Kyrgyzstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union: in 2005 and 2010, the wave of migration became more pronounced with massive demonstrations and political instability in the country. The most recent revolution in Kyrgyzstan took place in 2020.
"Make room for the Kyrgyz people"
In 2009, Kyrgyzstan celebrated Kyrgyz Language Day for the first time, and state institutions began to impose bilingual offices. Because she did not speak Kyrgyz, Yulia's mother was dismissed as head nurse.
"She was asked to make room for a Kyrgyz." Yulia said.
She admits that she is increasingly feeling like an outsider in Kyrgyzstan, not only because of the language, but also because she is often asked about ethnicity by strangers. She could feel the growing nationalism around her.
In June, with the connivance of a coach, a 9-year-old Ethnic Russian boy was beaten by his peers at a sports training base because of his ethnicity and religious beliefs. In August, in a shopping mall in Bishkek, a drunken man smashed a calculator at a saleswoman for not answering questions in Kyrgyz.
Two incidents have caused outrage in Russia: the man who attacked the clerk was barred from entering Russia for 10 years, while the injured boy was invited to Russia for treatment.
Kyrgyz netizens were surprised by Moscow's "fuss", and the focus of public opinion began to favor the large number of incidents of discrimination against Central Asian labor migrants in Russia. Subsequently, The Kyrgyz authorities promised a harsher response to such incidents and requested that they not be seen as systematic violations of the rights of Russians.
In fact, living in Bishkek on Kyrgyz alone is as difficult as living on Russian alone. Local Russian usage is still high. On the streets of Bishkek, all billboards and posters are spoken in two languages, but shops and coffee shops are often served in Russian, and the locals themselves often speak Russian.
"It's not in your village"
Tv presenter Perizat Setbulhanova, 27, came to Bishkek from Batken in 2011 to study. At the time, she recalled, staff refused to answer her questions at the school's open house event because she spoke Russian poorly.
Today, Perizat is multilingual and can broadcast in Kyrgyz and Russian, the latter of which she taught herself while living in the capital.
Perizat Seth Burhanova
"For the first year, or even a year and a half, people kept telling me to speak Russian, or even just saying, 'This is not in your village,'" she said. Whether on the bus or in the shops, not only the Russians say this, but so do the Kyrgyz. ”
If you don't speak Russian, it is still difficult to find a job in a state institution – because of the introduction of bilingual offices. In 2019, Nazarkur Isekev, head of the State Language Council under the Kyrgyz president, said that only about 40 percent of all state documents were preserved in the Kyrgyz language.
Childhood language
Zeinep Bazarbayeva, 30, is a linguist and mother of two preschoolers. The family speaks Kyrgyz at home. She and her husband experienced three failures before they managed to find a kindergarten that taught in Kyrgyz.
Still, Zeinep found that the two children spoke more Russian. "The other kids all speak Russian and watch Russian cartoons, so they speak Russian more often when they play together, and the two children speak Russian after a month of learning," she explains. ”
In addition, all foreign films are screened in Russian in cinemas across Kyrgyzstan, and the National Channel only began translating cartoons into Kyrgyz a few years ago, and the number is equally scarce. The same is true of Kyrgyz teaching materials for foreigners.
There are still more Russian classes in primary and secondary schools (public or private) and kindergartens in Bishkek than in Kyrgyz language classes. To become a senior talent in the country, you need to know at least three languages: Kyrgyz, Russian and English. Specialized literature in many areas is only available in English, so the Kyrgyz language is increasingly undervalued.
The lack of Kyrgyz teaching methods and literary works is being discussed at different levels of society. In September, President Sadr Zaparov proposed translating all official documents into Kyrgyz to help its development. He was also the first President of Kyrgyzstan to use only Kyrgyz for all official speeches. Former President Solongbai Zenbekov was often ridiculed for speaking Russian poorly.
Kyrgyz President Zaparov uses only Kyrgyz in his public speeches
Sociologist Ermila Nogoybayeva said: "Here, the Kyrgyz themselves mock each other with Russian accents. This is especially common among officials or dignitaries, although it is normal to speak a foreign language with an accent. ”
Although President Zaparov has shown great loyalty to the Kyrgyz language, he, like his predecessors, speaks Russian and stresses the importance of retaining the Russian language in Kyrgyzstan, especially during his visit to Russia. On his last visit, he even pointed out that there was a shortage of Russian teachers throughout the country.
Russian-speaking capital, Kyrgyz-speaking prefecture
Outside of Bishkek, the language environment is indeed very different: more than half of the public schools in the cantons are taught in Kyrgyz. The Russian language is still dominant in the north of the country, but is gradually decaying in the south and is being replaced by other minority languages.
For example, many ethnic Uzbek citizens living in Osh and Jalalabad converse, study and watch Uzbek television and movies in Uzbek. Their second language is mainly Kyrgyz, followed by Russian. The situation is similar for Tajik citizens.
Pictured here is a Sign in Kyrgyzstan and Russia at a sanatorium in Jalalabad Oblast, Kyrgyzstan, near the Border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan
The gradual disappearance of the lingua franca has also exacerbated the disintegration of the Fergana Basin, where the three countries meet, the ethnic composition is complex, and it is highly prone to conflict.
"Unfortunately, the Russian language is fading out of sight, which is sad because along with the language we are losing a huge layer of culture," Hermira said. But at the same time, there is still a need to learn it, including in various states. For example, Barcken's Russian classes are often overcrowded because many people there plan to go to Russia to work, and some students go to Russian classes after school. Other immigrants who returned from Russia have taught themselves Russian. ”
Out of touch with the language environment, especially in childhood, many Kyrgyz people quickly forget their mother tongue. The 34-year-old Gulbala moved from the village to Bishkek after graduating from secondary school and married a Russian-speaking Kyrgyz. Her eldest daughter started out speaking Kyrgyz, but switched to Russian in kindergarten. Other children speak Russian from an early age.
She regretted that no effort had been made to protect the Kyrgyz language. Now, children have to learn it as a foreign language.
Compile: Vika
Source: kaktus.media