Н.С. Жумагулова, А.А. Ахетова
Кокшетауский университет им. Абая Мырзахметова
Кокшетау, Казахстан
n_schum@inbox.ru, ahetova.adiya@mail.ru
THE ISSUE CONCERNING THE TYPES OF THE EURASIAN LINGUISTIC IDENTITY IN THE EDUCATIONAL DISCOURSE OF KAZAKHSTAN
Four types of linguistic identity, formed in the modern Kazakhstan’s society are distinguished: diminished, mass, ideal, and elite. A modern specialist of the Eurasian space, a highly qualified professional of the 21st century is the linguistic identity of the ideal and elite type, since the multidimensionality of international relations in the era of globalization and integration, the need to respect the confidentiality of many scientific studies, the use of increasingly high-level information technology in the professional activity puts the world community before the necessity for constant level increase of specialist training. In these conditions, formation of the linguistic identity of the highest level of development takes a strategic importance.
Key words: the linguistic identity of mass proportions, the ideal type of the Eurasian linguistic identity, the Eurasian linguistic identity of the elite type, the linguistic identity of the diminished type, educational discourse, multilingual, multilingualism, multi-ethnic, multicultural, polyethnic, polylingual
Being a sovereign multinational state it is necessary for Kazakhstan to use all its resources, including those of linguistic education for successful functioning in the modern world political and economic system at the present stage of its development.
The linguistic identity of mass proportions, proclaimed, in fact, by «Trinity of Languages» project put forward by the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan, and implemented today as a multilingual program, should be able to create and comprehend texts in oral and written form in three languages: Kazakh, Russian and English, be capable of communicating with representatives of other cultures and ethnic groups, without violating the generally established rules and norms of communication.
In the process of formation of the linguistic identity of mass proportions, it is supposed to increase significantly the normative aspect of speech culture in three languages: Kazakh, Russian and English as one of the most important ones; to adopt the basic communicative qualities of speech and to take them into account in the process of speech interaction and paralinguistic behavior, to formulate the students’ generally accepted norms and forms of speech etiquette. The linguistic identity of mass proportions should also adopt in the future functional tonalities of the three languages, be guided by pragmatic conditions of communication, which significantly affect the optimal choice and organization of speech resources for the given situation.
The policy of multilingualism conducted in the state must, first of all, correspond to the needs of the multi-ethnic community of Kazakhstan, in which representatives of more than 130 ethnic groups live. Knowledge of the Kazakh language should become an important factor in the growth of personal competitiveness of citizens, career advancement and active participation in the social and economic processes of modern society. In 1989 in the Republic of Kazakhstan Languages Law acclaimed the Russian language to be the language of interethnic communication and it remains unchanged. In our opinion, in modern conditions the Russian language in Kazakhstan has already moved beyond the language of interethnic communication and acquired the status of an international language, since knowledge of the Russian language ensures mutual understanding and cultural exchange of people on the vast expanses of the former USSR, Eastern and Western Europe, and East Asia countries. An actual addition to the characteristic of the Eurasian linguistic identity of mass proportions is the English language.
Moreover, transition of the Kazakh language from Cyrillic to Latin changes the status of all three languages — Kazakh, Russian and English — in the modern educational discourse. The transition to Latin means not just substitution of one alphabet for another, but also reformatting of the entire Kazakhstan education. In these conditions, polylingual education is regarded as a purposeful process of joining in the world culture by means of several languages, while the languages studied act as a tool for absorbing the special knowledge, cultural, historical and social experience of various countries and peoples.
As a result of «Trinity of Languages» project, it is planned to form a young generation of multilingual citizens of Kazakhstan that are able to speak Kazakh as a state language, Russian as the language of interethnic communication and English as the language of international communication. Certainly, it is important for representatives of small ethnic groups of Kazakhstan to keep their native language, cultural traditions that have already become the property of a multicultural and polyethnic Kazakhstan society, but not all small ethnic groups (the Ukrainians, the Germans, the Poles, etc.) have retained knowledge of their birth language even at a simple level and therefore use the Russian language as their native language.
Today issues of multilingual education in Kazakhstan are in the center of attention of domestic practitioners (K.K. Seilkhanova [1], Chan Dinh Lam [2], N.A. Moshenskaya [3], B.A. Jetpisbayeva, O.T. Arinova [4], N.S. Zhumagulova [5; 6], etc.). Various types of linguistic identity have been studied in Russian linguistics, including: the Russian identity (Y.N Karaulov), the communicative identity (V.P. Konetskaya,), the linguistic and speech identity (Yu.Ye. Prokhorov, L.P. Klobukova) , the dictionary linguistic identity (V.I. Karasik), the orthographic linguistic identity (N.D. Golev), the ethnosemantic identity (S.G. Vorkachev), the elite linguistic identity (O.B. Sirotinina, T.V. Kochetkova) and etc. At the same time the problems of formation of a linguistic identity of mass proportions in a polyethnic and polylingual society, and the typology of the linguistic identity, which is being developed today in the educational discourse of schools and universities of Kazakhstan, are not thoroughly and comprehensively studied in the modern linguistics.
Thus, the linguistic identity, formed in the polyethnic and multicultural space of the educational discourse of Kazakhstan, has a number of specific features of a linguoculturological type.
In this regard, it is important to form a new attitude to the process of studying the Kazakh and Russian languages: it is necessary to teach not only languages, but also speech culture and etiquette, the ability to communicate with representatives of different cultures in accordance with generally accepted norms of behavior, the ability to use adequate for this culture and society expressions used in situations of establishing and maintaining contact in the professional and everyday spheres, etc. As per today, these rules are violated, and it concerns not only speech errors, but also Communicational Culture and general cultural behavior.
As articulated earlier, the linguistic environment of Kazakhstan is very heterogeneous. In the educational discourse of Kazakhstan universities, two mega-languages predominate – Kazakh and Russian, but the degree of linguistic proficiency of each of them is different in the framework of bilingualism. The frequency of using these languages as tools for obtaining information and as sources of information has not been systematically analyzed, although the preliminary results of individual surveys indicate that a low level of linguistic proficiency, as well as insufficient quantity of educational material and information resources in the Kazakh language, encourages students to use them in the Russian language.
The level of teaching English doesn’t let school leavers of a secondary school and graduates of higher education institutions, for the most part, have the necessary communicative competences in all four language activities: speaking, listening, reading and writing. At most, they have skills to read simple texts in English.
A distinctive feature of the current stage of the implementation of multilingual education in Kazakhstan is the simultaneous study of three languages in the educational discourse using different methods: English is studied as a foreign language, Kazakh and Russian are studied as non-native languages, but in a «confidential» linguistic space, when not only single words, but sentences, and texts fill their linguistic space in different types of discourse in these languages. Moreover, all three languages are studied on the basis of educational subjects at school and at university using the modern method of CLIL (content and language integrated learning), when the subject is taught in foreign and non-native languages (Russian or Kazakh). This is precisely why today it is important to form a linguistic identity of mass proportions; this identity should have competencies in three languages — Kazakh, Russian and English.
«The identity has his or her own face»,– these words belong to S.L. Rubinstein – and «the depth and richness of the identity presuppose the depth and richness of his or her connections with the world, with other people …» [8, p. 638]. This idea fully applies to the characterization of the linguistic identity that is being formed today in Kazakhstan’s society: the more languages a person knows, the more he touches the cultural and moral values of other peoples, the more he is open to communication with the world and an adequate perception of another person.
As a result of the implementation of the multilingualism program, it is planned to form a young generation of polylingual citizens of Kazakhstan. Certainly, it is important for representatives of small ethnic groups in Kazakhstan to retain knowledge of their birth language, their own cultural traditions, which have already become the property of a multicultural and polyethnic Kazakhstan society, but not all small ethnic groups (the Ukrainians, the Germans, the Poles, etc.) have retained their birth language, even at a simple level and therefore use the Russian language as their native language.
Taking into account the fact that in different regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan the conditions for functioning of the Kazakh and Russian languages and the degree of linguistic proficiency are different, it can be assumed that the model of the Eurasian linguistic identity will have several types.
The main goal of the policy of multilingualism conducted today is formation of the linguistic identity of mass proportions. The Eurasian linguistic identity of mass proportions is considered to be an identity that has linguistic, speech and cultural competences while communicating in at least three languages – the state language, the language of interethnic communication and the language of international communication. Such languages for modern Kazakhstan are Kazakh, Russian and English.
The Eurasian linguistic identity of mass proportions, to formation of which attention is now directed, is multilingual: it is proficient in three languages equally – Kazakh, Russian and English. The level of linguistic proficiency at the present stage in the educational discourse is the level of the medium standard language; limited themes, genres, forms, etc. are possible.
According to our research, as per today, the linguistic identity of mass proportions is divided into two groups on the basis of linguistic proficiency in the Kazakh and Russian languages as the main languages of the educational discourse in Kazakhstan. To the first group we refer the linguistic identity that knows the Kazakh language being proficient in all language activities, possessing certain communicative skills in the second language – Russian.
To the second group we refer the linguistic identity that has communicative skills in oral and written form in Russian, and is capable at the same time of comprehending and creating texts on limited themes and genres in the Kazakh language.
Both groups of linguistic identity types of mass proportions are proficient in English in the framework of school and university curricula, i.e. speech skills are not sufficiently developed for independent use of English in educational and professional activities.
But, since the society faces the task of carrying-out the program of multilingualism, and this means formation of a linguistic identity of mass proportions, all reserves are directed to the task solution: the younger generation must communicate in the academic sphere in accordance with the set communicative goal in Kazakh, Russian and English. In the future, it is the linguistic identity of mass proportions that will be the most powerful and popular in the professional sphere in Kazakhstan society, which will also promote personal welfare.
The paralinguistic behavior of the linguistic identity of mass proportions is regulated by the speaking etiquette of the linguistic identity of medium standard level of the three languages and the system of set expressions developed in the society, applied in the educational, professional and everyday spheres. As per today, these rules are violated, since the linguistic identity of mass proportions is characterized by mistakes in the use of word forms, their formation, constructing sentences.
In the process of formation and development of the linguistic identity of mass proportions, it is necessary to increase significantly the level of paralinguistic behavior, to form new modes of speaking etiquette. The Eurasian linguistic identity of mass proportions can’t easily switch from the code of one language to the code of another one without violating the general structure and logic of the statement. In the future the Eurasian linguistic identity of mass proportions must master functional aspects of the three languages.
The Eurasian linguistic identity of mass proportions has to adapt to the conditions of market and competition, and this stimulates the awakening and development of the person’s inner activity aimed at achieving life goals and self-esteem of the identity. In the modern Kazakhstan discourse this already can be clearly traced.
As the results of our research have revealed, 97% of university students of the 1-4 courses do not watch television news programs, political debates, cultural programs, serials, etc. The process of enriching vocabulary takes place mainly through the Internet, telephone, internet games, fashion, etc. The textbook remains the main source of professional vocabulary and terminology.
The Eurasian linguistic identity of this type can realize the deficient level of the discursive thinking and strive for its positive change through self-education.
The system of formation and upbringing of the Eurasian linguistic identity of mass proportions in the school and university educational discourse is directed against conformism, to development of the ability to analyze, explain and make independent decisions concerning important moral and social problems.
The emotional component of the Eurasian linguistic identity of this type is large-scale; it manifests itself in gestures and facial expression. Evaluative judgments are quite subjective, based on personal experience. Analytical thinking is at a low stage of development, it is necessary to develop the ability to perform logical analysis and synthesize information. The social and communicative experience of this linguistic identity is low, discursive thinking is underdeveloped.
Thus, large-scale formation of the Eurasian linguistic identity of mass proportions in the educational discourse of Kazakhstan schools and universities takes place nowadays. At the same time, it should be noted that in our society active development of a higher-level linguistic identity takes place, we call it the Eurasian linguistic identity of the ideal type.
The ideal type of the Eurasian linguistic identity is distinct from the identity of mass proportions, in our opinion, in the ability to comprehend and create adequate texts in oral and written form in accordance with the personal communicative intentions and the communicative situation in the standard Kazakh, Russian and English languages. The linguistic identity of this type is characterized by the use of the normative, stylistically differentiated Kazakh, Russian and English languages.
Besides, thanks to the active use of several languages in working with information sources that are necessary for the performance of productive professional activities, the Eurasian linguistic identity of the ideal type constantly improves the style differentiation and genre range of his or her vocabulary and grammar.
The Eurasian linguistic identity of the ideal type equally successfully uses the linguistic means of the three languages to realize their cognitive and professional ambitions, has the ability to have a fine appreciation of the interlocutor and use adequate linguistic, pragmatic and ethical means in communication. A wide choice of linguistic means gives the linguistic identity of the ideal type the opportunity to choose the appropriate for the speech situation and advantageous for the addressee «you» — or «You» — form for communication, to establish a friendly, informal or, on the contrary, official tone of the conversation when communicating in the above mentioned languages. The Eurasian linguistic identity of the ideal type can easily switch from the code of one language to the code of another one without violating the general structure and logic of the utterance.
The cultural component of the linguistic identity of the ideal type is sufficiently developed; it is constantly improved due to the professional activity, communication with representatives of other, more highly-developed cultures. The linguistic identity of the ideal type respects the generally accepted norms of behavior, moral standards and ethical principles adopted not only in his or her community, but also recognized in other cultures. This linguistic identity constantly strives to enhance the personal speech culture in the process of professional communication with other ethnic groups and cultures.
The highest type of the Eurasian linguistic identity is now in initiation stage — it is the Eurasian linguistic identity of the elite type. By the Eurasian linguistic identity of the elite type, an identity that has discursive competences when communicating in three or more languages — the Kazakh, Russian, English and other languages (foreign languages / languages of other ethnic groups of the Eurasian space) is meant. We do not touch upon similar competencies in our native language in this context, since we proceed from the postulate that the linguistic identity of this level should naturally be proficient in the native language in all its styles and sub-styles, speech genres, in oral and written form, have a high culture of communication, not violating complete mutual understanding.
The Eurasian linguistic identity of the elite type is characterized by the fact that its speech is adequately perceived by the native speakers of the given linguistic identity, both in written and oral form, and both in dialogue and in monologue. He or she has a developed sense of functional and style differentiation and organization of modern language norms, a high culture of speaking and behavioral etiquette.
The Eurasian linguistic identity of the elite type has the ability to communicate in the Kazakh, Russian, English and other languages in any kind of discourse. The linguistic identity of the elite type is able to offer a partner a subject for communication in all the languages he or she is proficient in, his or her speech is reasoned, initiative, emotional. The linguistic identity of the elite type has these qualities in the business, information and social spheres, he or she demonstrates the richness and diversity of expressive means in all the languages, due to a wide range of formed associations.
The Eurasian linguistic identity of this type is characterized by a strongly marked «I» concept based on a spacious mind and erudition, «… for a language is a living activity of the spirit coordinating its worldview with concrete acts of human behavior» [Karlinsky, 2009, p. 23].
The Eurasian linguistic identity of the elite type is distinguished by the positive attitude of the person: nobleness, benevolence, generosity, tolerance, harmony, humanity, friendliness. The linguistic identity of this type is open to the world, full of zest, easy to get on with and cheerful, constructive, competent, communicative, and optimistic. It is achieved through the profound assimilation of the cultural, historical and social experience of various countries and peoples, the languages of which the given linguistic identity is proficient in.
The elite linguistic identity is able to integrate successfully in any society, since linguistic proficiency is an instrument for comprehending the sphere of special knowledge, cultural and linguistic development of another people. The linguistic identity of the elite type is capable of active and effective life in a multinational and multicultural environment. To achieve such a level of development of the linguistic identity is not an easy task; it is the result of his or her development throughout the professional life.
The last type of the linguistic identity in Kazakhstan society is the diminished type. The linguistic identity of the diminished type has certain sociolinguistic competencies, whose register of linguistic means includes the dialect substandard languages, the common slang, the diminished speech layer. This linguistic identity does not possess proper cultural behavior of speech, rules of making speech contact and maintaining it in the native language.
The set of linguistic means — vocabulary, syntax — does not differ in stylistic diversity, reflects the underdevelopment of logical operations, hostile rhetoric is possible, since the ability to understand all the tonalities of someone else’s speech and to react to them tolerantly is not formed. The speech of the linguistic identity of this type allows you to get adequate social information as on an undereducated person. The linguistic identity of the diminished type is usually mono- or bilingual, but the degree and quality of the second language proficiency is also low and reflects its undeveloped outlook and worldview. The ethnic worldview of the linguistic identity of the diminished type is the part of its subjective world, formed in its social reality.
The cultural and intellectual baggage and value orientations of this linguistic identity are not high; they are formed by the most available mass media and propaganda: mobile phones, television programs, serials, advertising, local press, communication among friends and through social networking websites, etc. In spite of the fact that this type of a linguistic identity exists in a multiethnic tolerant communicative space, it is characterized by verbal aggression, manifested in the use of nonstandardized vocabulary, verbalization of aggressive emotions, higher communication tonality, etc. The linguistic identity of the diminished type is not a characteristic of the educational discourse.
So, we distinguish four types of linguistic identity, formed in the modern educational discourse of Kazakhstan: mass, ideal, elite and diminished. A modern specialist of the Eurasian space, a highly qualified professional of the 21st century is the linguistic identity of the ideal and elite type, since the multidimensionality of international relations in the era of globalization and integration, the need to respect the confidentiality of many scientific studies, the use of increasingly high-level information technology in the professional activity puts the world community before the necessity for constant level increase of specialist training. In these conditions, formation of the linguistic identity of the highest level of development takes a strategic importance.
List of references:
1 Seilkhanova K.K. The role of polylingual education in Kazakhstan // Electronic resource
[Access mode]: http://worldofteacher.com/3301
2 Chan Dinh Lam. Polylingual education is the most important strategy for the development of Kazakhstan. // Advances in modern natural science. — No. 7. — 2013.- P. 130-132.
3 Moshenskaya N.A. Polylinguistic space in Kazakhstan — reflection of globalization in education // Electronic resource [Access mode]: http://www.kafu.kz/trekhyazychnoeobrazovanie/1632-poliyazychie
4 Zhetpisbayeva B.A., Arinova O.T. From the idea of «Trinity of languages» of N.A. Nazarbayev to the polylingual education in Kazakhstan // Electronic resource [Access mode]: https://articlekz.com/article/5831
5 Zhumagulova N.S. Linguistic identity in the context of modern methods of foreign languages teaching // Electronic resource [Access mode]: http://en.convdocs.org/docs/index-234953.html
6 Zhumagulova N.S. Trilingualism in Kazakhstan: pros and cons // Bulletin of Karaganda University. — Series of philology. — № 4 (80) / 2015. — P.78-83.
7 Zhumagulova N.S., Zhumagulova E.V. The educational discourse of Kazakhstan yesterday and today // Bulletin of Sh. Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University, Kokshetau, №4. — 2016. — P. 67 -71.
Н.С. Жумагулова, А.А. Ахетова
ҚАЗАҚСТАННЫҢ ОҚУ ДИСКУРСЫНДАҒЫ ЕУРАЗИЯЛЫҚ ТІЛДІК ТҰЛҒАЛАРДЫҢ ТҮРЛЕРІ ТУРАЛЫ МӘСЕЛЕСІ
Қазіргі заманда, Қазақстан қоғамына сәйкес, тілдің қалыптасыуң төрт тұлғасы қарастырылады: бұқаралық, мінсіз, элитарлық және төменгі түрі болып табылады. Қазіргі заманның маманы Еуразиялық кеңістікте, ол кәсіпқой, жоғары даярланған ХХI – ғасырдың іс– маманы. Бұл тілдің тұлғаның мінсіз және элитарлық түрі болып табылады. Өйткені глоболизация заманыңда халықаралық қарым – қатынас бірлестікте, көптеген ғылыми зерттеу жұмыстар құпия түрде сақтауда міндетті және кәсіби– істе бұқаралық технологияларды қолдану барысында, жоғары мамандарды даярлауға әлемдік қаумды алдына әкеліп қояды. Бұл жағдайда тілдің жеке тұлғасын қалыптастыру барысында, жоғары денгейінде дамуында стратегиялық манызына иеленеді.
Н.С. Жумагулова, А.А. Ахетова
ВОПРОС О ТИПАХ ЕВРАЗИЙСКИХ ЯЗЫКОВЫХ ЛИЧНОСТЕЙ В
ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОМ ДИСКУРСЕ СКАЗАХСТАНА
Различают четыре типа языковой личности, типичных для современного казахстанского общества: сниженного типа, массового, идеального и элитарного. Современный специалист евразийского пространства, высококвалифицированный профессионал ХХI века – это языковая личность идеального и элитарного типа, поскольку многомерность международных отношений в эпоху глобализации и интеграции, необходимость соблюдения конфиденциальности многих научных исследований, использование в профессиональной деятельности информационных технологий все более высокого уровня ставят мировое сообщество перед необходимостью постоянного повышения уровня подготовки специалистов. В этих условиях формирование языковой личности высшего уровня развития приобретает стратегическое значение.