Issue 2, 2024

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The additive particle =lo in the Upper Andi variety of Zilo is a multifunctional clitic which is used both in contexts typologically frequent for additive particles and in peripheral ones. The paper provides a comprehensive description of the functions of additive =lo in the Zilo Andi in a typological perspective, with special attention to the functions in which this particle particle is used together with other markers. In Zilo Andi the additive particle is used without additional elements in four of the ten known functions (additivity, scalar additivity, constituent coordination and forming converbal clauses). The additive particle forms a construction together with the emphatic particle =gu in three of its functions (numerative constructions with exhaustive meaning, universal quantifiers, and several indefinite pronoun series). In its remaining functions, the additive particle is used as part of complex marker and is not singled out separately at the synchronic level. This description of additive functions, taking into account the use of other markers, allows us to understand the semantics of these particles in more detail and, in the wider scheme, to approach a typological explanation of the variation of functions covered by them in different languages.

Keywords: additive particle, Andi, clitics, Nakh-Dagestanian languages

For citation: Russkikh A. A. Functions of the additive particle =lo in the Zilo dialect of the Andi language: independent use of the additive and its combination with other markers. Rodnoy yazyk, 2024, 2: 6–37.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2024-2-6-37

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The author conducted a sociolinguistic survey among the Mountain Jewish diaspora in the Moscow region using in-depth semi-structured interviews. The purpose of the survey was to determine the functioning and viability of the Juhuri language in the diaspora for the purpose of better understanding what measures need to be taken to preserve the language. Survey questions concerned the language biographies of respondents and their ancestors, the current use of various languages across domains and functions, and especially the respondents’ loyalty to their heritage language. 100 % of respondents from both diaspora generations, regardless of their age and level of proficiency in the Juhuri language, highly value their language and want it to be passed on to future generations. However, a high level of linguistic loyalty in the community is not by itself a sufficient condition for language revitalization; language ideologies and attitudes aimed at preserving the language are also needed to achieve success. The sociolinguistic survey revealed the prevailing “avoidance strategies” in the Juhuri community: the failure to see a connection between language use and transmission, the shifting of responsibility for preserving one’s language and culture to others without any personal effort and personal involvement, etc. The survey exposed this problem and outlined ways to solve it. Now it is necessary to begin the painstaking work of changing the community’s mentality so as to achieve Positive Attitudes towards Multilingualism, without which language revitalization is impossible.

Keywords: Juhuri, Mountain Jews, diaspora languages, language revitalization, language loyalty, language ideologies, language attitudes

For citation: Agranat T. B. Language loyalty, ideologies, attitudes and practices among Mountain Jewish communities in the Moscow region. Rodnoy yazyk, 2024, 2: 38–58.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2024-2-38-58

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This article presents the results of fieldwork conducted with Mari speakers residing in Bashkortostan, focusing on their use of the Tatar language. A comprehensive sociolinguistic survey was conducted in the spring of 2024, aimed at describing the current linguistic situation in the Mari community in the Mishkinо district of Bashkortostan. Data was collected from the linguistic biographies of one hundred respondents and representatives of the older generations in their families. The author examines the circumstances in which Maris in Bashkortostan learn Tatar and identifies factors (economic, cultural, etc.) contributing to close language contact between Tatars and Maris in Bashkortostan over the past several centuries. Knowledge of the Tatar language, which served as a lingua franca in areas where Tatars and Maris lived in close proximity to each other, used to be taken for granted. Language biographies gathered from the survey participants in the Mari community of Bashkortostan revealed a decreasing tendency (from generation to generation) to know Tatar well. A few elderly respondents indicated proficiency in Tatar, some middle-aged respondents claimed to have a passive understanding of Tatar, but younger respondents did not mention Tatar at all in the set of languages that their older family members may have spoken. The author attempts to identify factors that significantly impacted the nature of Mari-Tatar language contact, leading to the replacement of Tatar by Russian

Keywords: Mari language, Tatar language, language contacts, Maris in Bashkortostan, sociolinguistic survey, old Mari diaspora

For citation: Kutsaeva M. V. Traces of Tatar in the language biographies of Mari speakers in Bashkortostan. Rodnoy yazyk, 2024, 2: 59–81

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2024-2-59-81

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This article offers a short overview of the current Kildin Saami language situation, paying particular attention to the resolving of the longstanding conflict about the written language in 2017, an important prerequisite for further Kildin Saami language revitalisation work. The main part of the article focuses on ongoing Kildin Saami language revitalisation measures in the village of Lovozero in the Murmansk region of Russia. By means of a special training program, consisting of (1) the Master-Apprentice Language Learning Method and (2) instruction in Kildin Saami grammar and orthography, both adult speakers with passive Kildin Saami language knowledge and speakers who actively use Kildin Saami in everyday life are offered an opportunity to activate, develop and improve their knowledge of their native language. The program aims to increase the number of active Kildin Saami speakers, stimulate its transmission to new speakers, improve the quality of Kildin Saami language teaching, and promote a more competent approach to producing Kildin Saami textbooks and literature Furthermore, the article discusses the actual conditions under which the training takes place as well as some challenging factors that force us to reconsider the goals and expected results of the teaching. It also proposes possible approaches to solving some of these problems when conducting similar training events in the future.

Keywords: Kildin Saami, language revitalisation, active language use, passive language knowledge, oral language, written language, native speaker training, Master-Apprentice Language Learning Method

For citation: Scheller E. Activating passive Kildin Saami language knowledge through the Master-Apprentice Method and instruction in grammar and writing skills. Rodnoy yazyk, 2024, 2: 82–108.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2024-2-82-108

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The Bible is the world’s most translated book. Throughout history it has been translated into a great many languages, and these translations have in recent years begun to attract wider attention. This article investigates a selection of historical translations of the Lord’s Prayer from the Gospel of Matthew in a language called Tatar, and one contemporary translation, Volga Tatar. The timespan of the translations extends to over two hundred years: from 1803 to 2015. The translations are compared on a variety of linguistic levels, with special attention given to the lexicon. Orthography presents a noteworthy challenge, since most are in the Arabic script, not reflecting the nuances of the vowels. Features common to the translations are described, and those distinctive to each text are analysed. I discovered that many of the translations adhere to strict norms of literary language, clearly differing from spoken variants. Up to the 20th century many Turkic literary languages were “transregional”, that is, similar established literary norms extended over many Turkic peoples, whose spoken languages displayed a far greater variety. Inter acting with the biblical text gives us a valuable glimpse of the multiple voices represented by the translations, and the circumstances in which they were created.

Keywords: Bible translation, Tatar, Volga Tatar, the Lord’s Prayer, comparative analysis, lexicon, literary language

For citation: Greed T. Seven Tatar translations of the Lord’s Prayer (1803–2015) [Part 2]. Rodnoy yazyk, 2024, 2: 109–155.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2024-2-109-155

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This article presents the translation of Soviet author Lev Kassil’s story “Cold Ice Floe” (Льдина холодина) into the Shughnani language. The text of the translation was written using the alphabet designed for Shughnani in the early 20th century during the Soviet campaign for developing writing systems, eliminating illiteracy, and introducing education in native languages, a broad initiative that saw the publication of primers, textbooks and translated literature in many of the minority languages of the USSR. Included in this literacy campaign were Shughnani translations of the Russian translation of Wilhelm Hauff’s fairy tale “Die Geschichte von dem kleinen Muck“ (also known as “Little Muck“) and Lev Kassil’s “Cold Ice Floe”.

The Shughnani translation of “Cold Ice Floe”, published in 1938, is presented here in the following format: first, the Shughnani text according to the 1938 edition; the phonological transcription of the text written down using the currently accepted Iranian transcription system based on the Romanised alphabet with additional symbols accompanied with a line of morphemic notation; a free back-translation into Russian. This format makes it possible to use the Shughnani text and its Russian back-translation for comparative studies in linguistics and literary criticism.

This translation is one of the first examples of written fiction in the Shughnani language. The relevance of studying translated texts and bilingual books is found in their unique linguistic characteristics as well as in the lack of research on such texts in languages with a recently created writing system or that do not yet have an official writing system in Russia and its neighboring countries, with the Shughnani language as a case in point.

Keywords: Shughnani language, literary translation, Shughnani alphabet

For citation: Dodykhudoeva L. R. The Shughnani translation of Lev Kassil’s story “Cold Ice Floe”. Rodnoy yazyk, 2024, 2: 156–246.

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2024-2-156-246

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Evenki musical folklore has long attracted the attention of researchers. The earliest publication of traditional Evenki song texts was produced by G. Hut at the beginning of the 20th century. The first audio recording of Evenki songs was made using a phonograph by L. Y. Sternberg in 1910. The Phonogramme Archive of the Pushkin House in St. Petersburg includes extensive collections of traditional Evenki personal and shamanic songs, which were recorded in the first quarter of the 20th century and still need to be transcribed and analyzed.

Since then, a number of articles and monographs dedicated to Evenki songs, both traditional and modern, have been published. However, these publications have not included many actual texts of traditional Evenki songs. Collections of Evenki songs, published regularly since the 1930s, primarily reflect the “new wave” of songs written under the influence of the Russian/Soviet and global pop music traditions. This is the type of songs that we have had the opportunity to record since the turn of the 21st century among not only the Western, but also Eastern Evenkis.

Therefore, the two traditional songs presented in this article are rare exceptions among our Evenki field data. They were recorded in 1999 in Turukhansk, the district centre, performed by Maria Fedorovna Bezrukikh (Kurmatova), an 80-year-old Evenki woman from the Arctic village of Sovetskaya Rechka. These are traditional personal songs, not of the performer herself, but of her elder relatives. The first one is the song of a young girl who dreams of meeting a yet unknown man with whom she could spend the rest of her life. The second song is that of an old woman anticipating her approaching death.

Keywords: Evenki language, Ilimpiya dialect, Sovrechka local dialect, musical folklore, traditional personal songs

For citation: Kazakevich O. A. The anticipation of love and death in Western Evenki personal folk songs. Rodnoy yazyk, 2024, 2: 247–259

DOI: 10.37892/2313-5816-2024-2-247-259