Kasimov Dialect as a Factor in Preserving the Ethnic and Confessional Identity of the Tatars of the Ryazan Region

Two groups of Tatars have historically been settled in the eastern regions of the Ryazan Region - Kasimov Tatars and Mishari Tatars, with a total population of 3,071 people (as of 2021). These groups, while maintaining a common Tatar identity, close contacts (and family and marriage ties) have significant differences in ethnogenesis, traditional life, and especially in vocabulary. Most of the Kasimov Tatars are now Russian-speaking, while this ethnographic group is characterized by its archaic dialect, which differs markedly from the Mishar dialect found in neighboring Kasimov districts. Our in-depth interviews with Kasimov Tatars show that they perceive their dialect as an important factor of ethnoidentity, full or partial possession of it is noted as a sign of an indigenous inhabitant of the Tatar settlement of the city or local villages founded back in the era of the Kasimov Khanate. Local vocabulary is also used in ritual practices, becoming an integral part of religious everyday life. The Kasimov Tatars are alarmed by the transfer of vocabulary to young people, teaching them. Within the framework of the urban Tatar cultural center, it is only possible to study in the literary language, which the Kasimov Tatars perceive poorly. At the same time, thanks to the joint activities of community activists and researchers from Moscow and Tatarstan, it became possible to fix vocabulary with the possibility of preparing a dictionary of the dialect and further developments in its teaching. The article also examines the significance of the study of the Kasimov dialect of the Tatar language, conducted by the outstanding Kazan dialectologist, researcher and researcher L.T. Makhmutova in her 1952 dissertation. The article attempts to analyze the role of the dialect as a factor of the ethno-confessional identity of a local group of Tatars, as well as the work of the community in fixing and teaching the dialect.