Karelian Under Pressure from RussianInternal and External Russification

Abstract

The Karelians,an indigenous bilingualFinno-Ugrian minority,have for centuries lived in administrative, economic and cultural contact with the Russians. Today their imminent assimilation into the majority language and culture appears to threaten the very existence of the Karelian language and identity. However, some positive language maintenance initiatives have been taken up recently: concrete efforts have been made to revive Karelian by creating a written language and by teaching it as a mother tongue. In the study of this process, and by combining interdisciplinary approaches- including traditional linguistics, sociolinguistics and the sociology of language- the author has come to several conclusions. Karelian, despite the strong Russian influence, has preserved its basic structure and viability. The main problem in its future maintenance depends on its active use. This is threatened by the fact that young Karelian parents of today lack the motivation to pass the mother tongue on to their children,mainly because of the high prestige of Russian which is the language of education and the only vehicle of social mobility.

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