Bilingualism, Polylingualism in Central Asia and Their Interaction in a Multicultural Turkic-Speaking Environment: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan

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Introduction The phenomena of bilingualism, polylingualism and multiculturalism are closely interrelated and mutually conditioned, as the one contributes to the formation of the other, due to this there is a two-way improvement in the form of borrowed vocabulary, cultural values, national-cultural interpretation, which, as a rule, becomes the property of the language of the recipient nation with invariant functioning in the language of the donor nation [1-7]. The results of languages contacts and cultures, bilingualism, polylingualism, biculturalism and multiculturalism can also be negative: the extinction of people, their language, culture in the process of colonisation or complete merging (entering) into the language and culture of another ethnos functionally dominant in all para-meters, which politically, educationally, etc. creates conditions for the disappearance or serious assimilation of a linguo-ethnic-cultural society. In the conditions of Central Asia, which historically is a natural laboratory of interaction and mutual influence of languages and cultures, even in the Middle Ages and earlier gave the world outstanding Turkic scientists, thinkers, poets, who framed their works depending on the peculiarities of the linguocultural paradigm (epoch), contact of different languages and cultures, either in Arabic (Al-Farabi), or in Farsi (A. Beruni, A. Navoi, Nizami, M. Dulati), or in Turkic (M. Bobur, K. Jalairi) or in all three languages (A. Yassavi). Beruni, A. Navoi, Nizami, M. Dulati), either in Turkic (M. Bobur, K. Jalairi) or in all three languages (A. Yassawi) [see 8; 5], in the XX century and in Russian (O. Suleimenov et al.), in native and Russian languages (Ch. Aitmatov) [9-12]. Such polylingual, multicultural and sociocultural situations formed in time different types of bilingualism and polylingualism (Turkic-Arabic, Turkic-Persian-Arabic, Turkic-Arabic-Persian, Persian-Arabic-Turkic, Turkic-Russian, etc.), which left their trace in many Turkic languages in the form of linguistic and cultural borrowings [see 13; 8; 14]. Thus, there is a large concentration of languages and cultures both historically and in modern conditions in Central Asia, which is characteristic primarily of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, where monolingualism, bilingualism, polylingualism, biculturalism, and multiculturalism have been functioning since ancient times in interaction and mutual influence, based on the tolerance of the state-forming people towards the languages and cultures of other peoples. These interlingual and inter-cultural relationships have shaped Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as multi-ethnic and multinational linguistic and multicultural States with dominant Turkic languages and cultures - Kazakh and Uzbek. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan: Languages, Cultures, Tolerance and Interlinguocultural Communication Language is realized in different social spheres, which depends on many linguistic and extra-linguistic conditions that contribute to the creation of mono-lingual, bilingual and polylingual relationships between individuals within a society corresponding to these socio-cultural features. Different spheres of social activity form its members as individuals according to these monolingual and monocultural, bilingual and bicultural, polylingual and polycultural relationships between them. Man and society both in the aspect of universal and in the aspect of national-cultural are formed as their carriers in their inner world and their implementation in the external manifestation (in language, culture, behavior, etc.) in the process of implementation of the three main functions of language - communication, message, impact, which include the plan of culture. Language communication is impossible not in combination with culture and vice versa - cultural communication without language communication is im-possible. All kinds of communication (in the field of general culture, culture of science, etc.) are formed through language, so language is a carrier and linguorealizer of all types and kinds of cultures formed in the history of mankind. A national society can function as monolingual, bilingual and polylingual, which depends on many historical conditions of its habitation. In a monolingual national society there is no interlingual and intercultural communication. When inter-lingual communication is necessary, a certain number of bilinguals and poly-linguals are purposefully trained to carry out inter-lingual, intercultural and official-business communication. However, the society as a whole remains monolingual and monocultural. Thus, bilingualism and biculturalism, polylingualism and multi-culturalism are based on monolingualism and monoculturalism. Based on them, the individual and society “go” to bilingualism, biculturalism, etc., discovering similarities and differences in the own and the foreign [15], which over time becomes less foreign or even “like one’s own”. In the first case (less alien) the individual and the national society or its part possess a second language, a second culture. But their inner world clearly distinguishes the boundaries of preserving their own (native) from the alien (non-native). These are bicultural bilinguals with dominance of the native language or possession of native and non-native languages to the same extent. In this case, the native and the non-native function in the life of the individual and society depending on the situation of interlinguocultural communication. In the second case, when the non-native (foreign) is formed in the individual and society at the level of “as one’s own”, serious linguistic and cultural shifts towards the foreign take place. There is a partial or complete loss of national language and national culture. This leads to the disappearance of the nation as an original part of humanity. For example, the languages and cultures of the peoples of the north of the Russian Federation (Toleuts, Shorts, Evenks, etc.) In order for a national language and culture to fully function in close interlingual and intercultural communication with other peoples, even in the case of official domination of one language and one culture over others at the state level, it is necessary that one’s own (native) language has an appropriate history of not only oral but also written culture, science, literary, folklore, etc. foundations that are formed and keep the nation in its own nationally self-conscious linguistic, psychological, behavioural macro- and microcultural, cognitive, static and micro-cultural etc. bases, which are formed and hold, the nation in a proper national-self-conscious linguistic, psychological, behavioural macro- and micro-cultural, cognitive, static and dynamic state. This is the force that allows mastering a foreign language and culture, and preserves its own in its own form and, of necessity, with elements borrowed from the foreign. In the former USSR such Turkic-speaking republics were Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (in its composition with Karakalpakstan), Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan [16-19], Persian-speaking Tajikistan, where the native and the foreign functioned separately and in harmony of mutual understanding and complementarity. Although, of course, the official desire to dominate and the dominance of Russianness in many spheres of social activity of the national society in the Soviet Union was clearly visible, which had, on the one hand, a great positive influence, and on the other hand - a negative impact. Thus, the interaction and mutual influence of languages and cultures have two sides - positive and negative, based on bi- and polylinguality and intercultural communication, i.e. on transcultural practices [20; 8]. In the conditions of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, polylingualism and poly-culturalism contributed to the formation of intra-state bilingualism and bicul-turalism, polylingualism and multiculturalism, which formed intercultural com-munication on the basis of one and even two or three languages. Thus, in the 20th century, initially intercultural communication between different ethnic groups is carried out in Russian, nowadays - in the state language and in Russian depending on the purpose and situation of communication. The resettlement of the Russian-speaking population to the territory of Kazakhstan began in the 19th century with the aim of strengthening and rooting the Russian language and the corresponding way of life in the new territories. They resettled peasants, for whom life in their historical homeland was hard and miserable. This was also connected with the abolition of serfdom (1861), which created a mass of landless peasants. These settlers mainly settled in Western, Central and Eastern Kazakhstan. Old Believers, Baptists, and others whose religious beliefs were based on other strands of Orthodoxy and Christianity in general, as well as the Cossacks as a powerful military force, were primarily subjected to resettlement. At the same time, a policy of reducing the indigenous (Kazakh) population was spread. In these regions punitive campaigns were carried out to steal cattle, set fire to dwellings, take away children and baptize them into Orthodoxy. This state of affairs continued to varying degrees until almost 1917. After 1917 there were famines in Kazakhstan in 1922-1923 and in 1930-1933 (during collectivization), during which about half of the Kazakh population died out. A certain part of Kazakhs went to neighboring Turkic-speaking republics and to China. Thus, in these Kazakh lands, the number of Kazakh population and the use of the Kazakh language decreased sharply and the number of Russian-speaking population and the use of the Russian language increased sharply. The next big wave of increase of the Russian-speaking population in Kazakhstan began with the development of virgin lands in 1954-1955 and onwards. Only about 1 million Russian-speaking population was sent (voluntarily and involuntarily) to the territory of Kazakhstan. Only with the first wave more than 340,000 thousand young Russian-speaking population was sent to the Kazakhstan virgin lands. This circumstance increased the Russian-speaking population in the region to an even greater extent and seriously strengthened the functioning of the Russian language in intra-language, interlingual and intercultural communication both in the named regions and in the whole of Kazakhstan. Thus, intra-Kazakh inter-linguistic and intercultural communication in the Russian language was formed at the expense of a sharp decrease in the number of Kazakh population and a sharp narrowing of the function of the Kazakh language. The Kazakh language fulfilled the functions of intercultural communication on the territory of Kazakhstan to a greater or lesser extent during the Soviet period. It was mainly in the south of the country and in the territories where Germans were resettled, a sufficiently large part of which mastered the Kazakh language and in places of non-compact residence of Russian-speaking people: in Kazakh villages dominated by the Kazakh population and language. Interlinguocultural communication on the territory of Kazakhstan has an ancient history, as Kazakh people were in close linguistic, cultural, economic, military contact with the peoples of Bukhara Emirate, Khiva Khanate, Kokand Khanate, with the northern regions of China, with the border regions of Russia (before its colonisation of Kazakhstan). In the Kazakh Khanate, created in the XV century (1465), its subjects were not only Kazakhs, but also Uzbeks, Uyghurs, Sarts, etc. Therefore, this state was polylingual. Therefore, this state was polylingual, multicultural mainly due to Turkic-speaking peoples with the dominance of the indigenous (Kazakh) language and culture. Thus, polylinguality, trans-culturality is a historical real phenomenon for Kazakhstan. The difference in poly-linguality and transculturality of the Kazakh people before and after the arrival of the Russian Empire and the Russian language is that in the Kazakh Khanate the Kazakh language and culture were not forcibly introduced among other peoples. And the ideology of the Russian Empire and the USSR was the introduction of the Russian language to the detriment of the native (Kazakh) language. Thus, during the period of development of virgin lands in Central and Eastern Kazakhstan more than 1000 Kazakh schools were closed for various reasons of non-educational nature. Russian-language schools were opened everywhere, which became one of the serious reasons for the functioning of Russian as the dominant language that fulfils the functions of inter-ethnic communication. At present, the situation in Kazakhstan is levelling out with some dominance of the Kazakh language as a means of intercultural communication within the country. And this function is likely to develop. The country’s education system trains specialists in Russian, English, Chinese and other languages. The Russian language functions polyaspectively in the system of education, science and state activity. The overwhelming majority of the Kazakh people is Kazakh-Russian bilingual and further polylingual. The system of polylingual and multicultural interaction on the territory of Kazakhstan used to be formed at the expense of natural multilingual and multi-cultural environment, and less often at the expense of language teaching. At present it is carried out on the basis of a smooth combination of functioning of natural polylingual and multicultural environment and functioning of polylingual education at school and in higher education. The functioning of bilingualism and polylingualism, biculturalism and multiculturalism in Uzbekistan is similar to that in Kazakhstan, but it has had and has its own peculiarities, which relate both to the past centuries of the nation’s history and to the history of the twentieth century and the present. Historically, there were three States in the territory of Uzbekistan: the Khanate of Khiva, the Khanate of Kokand and the Emirate of Bukhara. In these khanates and the Emirate, the main population was Turkic-speaking (Uzbek, Kazakh, Turkmen, Karakalpak, Kyrgyz and, to a lesser extent, Uighur). In the Bukhara Emirate, the Farsi language was of great importance, which functioned in Samarkand and in some districts of the Ferghana Valley, Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya provinces. Farsi was the official business language of these states for a long time. But in unofficial conditions, Turkic in its Kipchak and Karluk-Chigilian dialects dominated both in terms of population and the language of everyday communication. Due to the serious differentiation of the official language in the state bodies and the language of everyday communication of the population in these states, the language of inter-linguistic and intercultural communication for the educated elite, civil servants, etc. was Farsi, and for others (the overwhelming majority of indi-genous peoples) was Turkic. Thus, polylinguality and transcultural practice have historically been a natural demand in these territories, as relations within and between each state formation required and promoted the language (or languages) of interethnic communication, which included intercultural communication, both in linguistic, domestic and educational terms. Historically formed such varieties of bilingualism, biculturalism, polylingualism and multiculturalism already in the XX century (in the period of the USSR) contributed to a sufficiently rapid acquisition of the Russian language, because in the consciousness of a certain part of the indigenous peoples of these Central Asian states there were historically formed psycho-images of bilingualism, polylingualism, multicultural diversity. In the system of these bilingual, polylingual psycho-images another psycho-image of language (Russian) was introduced, which in the XX century, especially in its second half was the functional dominant in two main provisions: 1) the compulsory learning and mastering of it as the language of state power (although there was no law on the state language in the USSR); 2) its introduction at the state level into all social spheres of activity of an individual and society regardless of national-cultural and territorial differences. Thus, the republics of Central Asia are an environment of languages and cultures, each of which is characterized by universal (universal) and nationalultural features, which is the main indicator of an individual’s belonging to a particular national community. Therefore, each Central Asian state is a field of aggregates (classes) of mono-lingual, bilingual and polylingual phenomena functioning in conditions of mono-cultural, bicultural, multicultural interactions and complementarity. Linguistic diversity in a democratic State also gives rise to diversity in the education system (i.e. democracy in the choice of the language of education). Thus, in Uzbekistan, complete secondary education (11 grades) is provided in seven languages (Uzbek, Russian, Kazakh, Karakalpak, Kyrgyz, Tajik and Turkmen). In Kazakhstan - in five languages (Kazakh, Russian, Uzbek, Uighur, Tajik). When entering a higher education institution, graduates of these multilingual schools have the same educational rights, since education in these languages is taught according to a single state programme, and therefore their matriculation certificates are of the same state standard. Thus, linguistic diversity in the Central Asian states (a large sociolinguistic situation) also gives rise to a system of multilingual education. Multilingualism in the everyday life of the people and multilingualism in the education system together contribute to the formation of bilingualism and polylingualism, which is a high linguistic and cultural heritage of the Central Asian states. The main types of bilingualism and polylingualism functioning in these states are as follows: 1) Kazakhstan: Kazakh-Russian, Kazakh-Uzbek, Kazakh-Uyghur; Uzbek-Kazakh, Uyghur-Kazakh, Tajik-Kazakh (Russian-Kazakh: to a lesser extent), Kazakh-Russian-English, Kazakh-Russian-Uzbek, Uyghur-Kazakh-Russian, etc. 2) Uzbekistan: Uzbek-Russian, Uzbek-Kazakh; Uzbek-Karakalpak, Uzbek-Tajik; Tajik-Uzbek, Karakalpak-Uzbek, Uzbek-Russian-Kazakh, Kazakh-Uzbek-Russian, Uzbek-Russian-Tajik, Tajik-Russian-Uzbek, Uzbek-Russian-Uzbek, Uzbek-Russian-English and so on (Russian-Uzbek to a lesser extent). In the Central Asian Republics (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan), representatives of other peoples (except for those in whose language national-language schools function) also live and work. For example, in Kazakhstan there are quite large diasporas of Ukrainians, Germans, Kurds, Crimean Tatars, Ingush, and Karachais, but there are no general education schools in their languages. This is explained by the fact that Ukrainians, Germans, Karachais, Balkars, Koreans, Crimean Tatars, Chechens, Kurds, Ingush, etc. were deported to the territory of Kazakhstan. There-fore, schools with instruction in their languages were not created, according to the ideological views of the USSR: they should have been assimilated into Russian-language schools. The largest (almost one million) diasporas were Ukrainian and German. As a rule, their children studied in Russian-language schools (in central, northern and eastern Kazakhstan). In the south of the republic, a certain part of Chechens, Crimean Tatars and others studied in Kazakh schools. Korean children also overwhelmingly attended Russian-language schools. The deported peoples wanted their children to have a good command of the Russian language, as it was the language of the state-forming Russian people. After rehabilitation, the Karashai, Balkars, Chechens, Crimean Tatars, Ingush, and Germans mostly returned to their historical homeland. Due to the deportation, almost 90% of the younger population of Ukrainians, Germans, Koreans did not speak their native language, i.e. they were formed as Russian-speaking individuals and societies from linguistic and cultural positions. In Uzbekistan, except for those peoples in whose language general education secondary schools were and are functioning (in 7 languages), there were no schools in their native language for children of Crimean Tatars, Balkars, Koreans and others. The reasons are the same: deportation, so from ideological positions schools were not opened to teach their children in their native language. Koreans, Crimean Tatars, etc. studied in Russian-language schools, and in rural areas Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatars also studied in Uzbek-language schools. The diaspora of Bukhara Jews also did not have a school with the native language of instruction. Uzbekistan has had a large Uighur diaspora for centuries. They are not deportees. They are the original inhabitants of Uzbekistan. However, there are no schools with the Uighur language of instruction. There are many reasons for this: 1) Uzbek and Uyghur languages are part of the Karluk-Chigilian dialect of Turkic languages, so mutual understanding with each other does not need additional teaching of the Uyghurs in Uzbek. 2) Close culture in general and behavior, home life, cuisine, etc., which his-torically formed the internal and external closeness of these two Turkic peoples. This has led to the fact that the overwhelming majority of Uighurs in Uzbekistan have become Uzbek-speaking, not only in language but also in culture as a whole (retaining their native language in everyday life). Outside the home and diaspora community, the mother tongue became the second component of Uzbek-Uyghur bilingualism rather than Uyghur-Uzbek bilingualism. After gaining independence in 1991, the integration of English into the education system in general and, in particular, into the system of professional activities in some social spheres has been gradually gaining momentum. Bilingualism with the participation of English functions mainly in the activities of separate groups of specialists in joint ventures, international relations, etc. Bilingualism or polylingualism with the participation of English is not mass, as, for example, Kazakh-Russian, Uzbek-Russian, Karakalpak-Kazakh-Russian. The origins of the formation of bilingualism and polylingualism, biculturalism and multiculturalism in the conditions of Central Asia are as follows: 1. Historical traditional multilingualism (centuries-old, millennia-old), which used to form Turkic-Arabic, Arab-Turkic, Arab-Persian-Turkic and other types of bilingualism, polylingualism, biculturalism and multiculturalism. These phenomena were reflected in the system of state, scientific and artistic activities, as well as in the educational system of those times. Centuries-old social bilingualism, polylingualism and multiculturalism in Central Asia is the traditional basis of their formation and in modern everyday life, when a new language (at one time - Russian, at present - English) enters this polylingual-cultural complex. 2. In the states of Central Asia bilingualism and polylingualism are formed in a smooth combination of natural bilingualism (in the conditions of the corresponding language environment) and artificial (classroom) bilingualism, which together creates qualitative-functional (active) bilingualism. For example, a certain part of young people entering universities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are actively trilingual: mother tongue-Russian-English and even quadrilingual (e.g. Karakalpak-Kazakh-Russian-English), etc. There is also such a phenomenon when living in conditions of active bilingua-lism and polylingualism, the overwhelming majority of one nation is not bilingual, polylingual. There are many reasons for this: 1) Lack of desire to master a second language, considering it unneeded for his (or their) life activities. 2) Neglect of other (local) languages on the basis of the false and anti-scientific inference that these languages are semantically and stylistically insufficient for communicative activity in them. 3) Inadequate quality teaching of the non-native (but state) language of the country of foreignophones. These and other provisions explain the prevalence of Russian-Turkic bilingualism in Central Asia. Thus, the formation and functioning of linguistic diversity in the region and multilingualism in the education system and in the everyday life of the population depends on many provisions, but the main among them are the democracy in the education system for the choice of the language of instruction, the presence of an appropriate (non-native) language environment, the willingness or unwillingness to learn a second language by the national community, and the state language policy [21; 22]. Conclusion Bilingualism, polylingualism and multiculturalism in Kazakhstan and Uzbeki-stan are ancient phenomena, as Turkic-speaking peoples with Persian-speaking, Arabic-speaking, Mongolian-speaking and Russian-speaking peoples have always been present in Central Asia and have led their national-cultural way of life in close multidimensional contact. Therefore, the study of this global scientific problem both in diachronic and synchronous plans has great linguistic, cultural and historical significance. The Republics of Central Asia are a fusion of different peoples, languages, cultures with the formation of indigenous ethnic groups, languages belonging to the Turkic branch of the Ural-Altaic language family. Bilingualism, polylingualism, respectful attitude to the national cultural life of Turkophones and Turkic peoples in general is a norm of behavior, a norm of everyday work activity, as their non-isolated, but contact living with different Turkic-speaking, Turkic-cultural peoples, as well as with foreign-linguistic and foreign-cultural peoples have formed in their consciousness psycho-images of the concepts of bilingualism and polylingualism, biculturalism and multiculturalism as natural sociolinguistic, sociocultural phenomena as linguocultural-national facts of the surrounding reality. The formation of such linguistic and cultural tolerance is based on different sources: a) Residence and labor activity in contact with representatives of different Turkic and other peoples, appropriate education system (natural formation of bilingualism and biculturalism). b) Forced adoption and formation of bilingualism and biculturalism, polylingualism, biculturalism and multiculturalism due to colonization: forced formation of non-native linguistic, cultural concepts and corresponding activities in the population on the basis of their introduction into the education system, subjecting the population to the language policy created by the non-native (alien) system of ruling in the state. Bilingualism, polylingualism, biculturalism, multiculturalism of states in Central Asia, as historical established phenomena, continue to develop with the serious introduction of foreign languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, etc. into the education system at school and in higher education, which contributes to the formation and shapes new kinds and types of bilingualism, polylingualism, biculturalism, multiculturalism, transculturalism.

About the authors

Mahanbet Dzhusupov

Uzbekistan State World Languages University

Author for correspondence.
Email: mah.dzhusupov@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2934-2333

Doctor of Philology, Professor, Honored Professor, Honorary Head of the Department of the Russian language

5 Reshetova St, Tashkent, 100151, Uzbekistan

References

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