On the Question of Public Policy in the Field of Language Preservation of the Indigenous Peoples of the North

According to field studies, expert interviews, focus--‐groups, Russian and foreign research literature’s analysis, we can draw a conclusion that it is important to take a number of legal docu--‐ ments for saving languages of smaller indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far east. A dif--‐ ferentiated approach let to find out languages of Krasnoyarsk Krai indigenous peoples, which run to the risk of full disappearance at most. As a recommendation for executive government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation it is suggested to use practice of State lan--‐ guage politics of Canada.

Problems of language saving of SINP

A modern practice shows that processes of global transformations put to a question saving of cultural heritage of smaller indigenous peoples, who live in northern and arctic territories of the Russian Federation. Today these territories experience the second industrialization, which is consid--‐ ered to be the most important promotion of strategic safety of our country both economic and moral [1; 2; 3; 4; 5].

Today smaller indigenous peoples of the North (SINP) need goal--‐directed and disposed state politics oriented on safety and translation its unique linguistic culture, its mother tongues. A current and severe problem is gradual decrease and disappearance of social--‐cultural vitality of SINP mother tongues. Factors, which today actively influence the vitality of languages of smaller indigenous peo--‐ ples of the North, are following:

• 1.    Number of representatives of ethnocultural group and number of people, who speak native language of this ethnocultural group.

• 2.    Grouping of language speakers into age divisions.

• 3.    Ethnocultural character of martial relations.

• 4.    Practices of acculturation and socialization.

• 5.    Fields of local inhabitance of that ethnocultural group.

• 6.    Intercultural linguistic communications.

• 7.    Types of social communications characteristic for this ethnic group.

• 8.    Ethnocultural identity and self--‐identity.

• 9.    Educational practices at schools.

• 10.    State politics in the field of native languages of one or another ethnocultural group [6, pp. 68--‐70].

State politics in the field of safety of ethnocultural groups smaller indigenous peoples’ in the North native languages can both destroy or revive them. History of languages knows both re--‐ sults. Nowadays UNESCO is ruled by a specially created classification of languages which are en--‐ dangered. It is common to mark following categories: 1) «unstable» languages, for which it is characteristic that more children speak it, but language itself is used in particular living environ--‐ ment of the ethnos; 2) «endangered languages», where children of this ethnic group stopped studying language as native; 3) «seriously endangered languages» (they are used mostly by the older generation as native); 4) languages which experience the critical state (only seniors speak them); 5) languages which will die soon. At that right of native language usage is formulated by the world society as a main person’s right, irrespective whether its usage expresses belonging to social minority or to dominated social group. But the realization of this right sometimes isn’t sup--‐ ported by the state politics. So, I.G. Ilishev writes, that “states react rather badly to the perspec--‐ tive of this principle’s realization in life, moreover, when it is referred to provision of independ--‐ ence to people” [7]. That’s why the right to choose language for social communications is realized in global world with great difficulty.

In such a way, the first principle of state politics in the field of saving of smaller indigenous peoples’ of the North languages — is to give an undertaking to provide positive state politics in the field of native languages of these ethnocultural groups’ representatives. But this principle is impos--‐ sible to provide without the second one of successful state politics — presence of high value attitude of that ethnocultural group’s representatives about their ethnic belonging, thus presence of pro--‐ cesses of positive ethnic identification and self--‐identification [8]. Safety and further prosperity of na--‐ tive languages of SINP of the Russian Federation is directly connected with the fact, whether lan--‐ guage proficiency and its usage by people and their children for particular representatives is consid--‐ ered to be of absolute social, cultural and personal value. It is also important to notice that in the situation of global transformations, which is connected with the second industrialization of northern and arctic territories in the Russian Federation, cultural identity and self--‐identity of smaller indige--‐ nous peoples of the Russian north is destroying fast [9]. Their languages suffer from active ethnocul--‐ tural corrosion.

Field studies of Krasnoyarsk Krai smaller indigoes peoples

In Siberia Federal University field studies of Krasnoyarsk Krai smaller indigoes peoples are provided since 2010 annually. These peoples compactly inhabit northern and equivalent to north--‐ ern territories [10]. Krasnoyarsk Krai includes Turuchanski region, North--‐Yenisei region, Evenkian municipal area, Taimir Dolgano--‐Nenets municipal area. During 2010--‐2013 with the help of scien--‐ tists, aspirants and students of the Siberian Federal University field studies of Krasnoyarsk Krai smaller indigoes peoples took place [11]. These peoples include ethnocultural groups of the Even--‐ ki, the Nenets, the Dolgans, the Chulimzi, the Nganasan, the Selcups, the Kets and the Enets.

Pointed out ethnocultural groups have a great population according to data of national Russian census of 2010 and they consist of 16 266 people. Certain ethnocultural Krasnoyarsk Krai smaller indigoes peoples have following population: the Dolgans – 5 810 people, the Evenki — 4372 people, the Nenets — 3633 people, the Chulimzi — 145 people the Nganasan — 807 people, the Selcups — 281 people, the Kets — 957 people and the Enets — 221people. In such a way, ac--‐ cording to the criteria, announced before — the number of the ethnic group representatives — na--‐ tive languages of these ethnocultural groups to the languages, as minimum, which are in serious danger, and as maximum, to disappearing languages. For all the eight ethnocultural groups, repre--‐ sentatives of Krasnoyarsk Krai smaller indigoes peoples it is necessary to take measures of task--‐ oriented state politics in the field of saving of native languages, when to lay down an aim to save its unique culture.

Demographical investigations of Krasnoyarsk Krai smaller indigoes peoples’ data by profes--‐ sor V.P. Krivonogov gives evidence of exceptionally dangerous language situation in the sphere of Krasnoyarsk Krai smaller indigoes peoples [10, pp. 400--‐485]. As an example let’s take criteria, con--‐ nected with whether mother tongue is used by children of Krasnoyarsk Krai smaller indigoes peo--‐ ples. The Dolgan children (before 18 years old) — 32,1% know and speak the Dolgan language; The Kets children — 1,7% know and speak the Kets language; the Chulimts children (before 18) abso--‐ lutely don’t know and don’t speak the Chulimts language; the Nenets children — 54,1% know and speak their native language; the Nganasan children — 47,6% know and speak their native lan--‐ guage; 1,7% of Enets children know and speak native language and 51,1% of Evenk children know and speak their mother tongue. Data about Selkup children V.P. Krivinogov doesn’t give. Thus dur--‐ ing field studies, taken by scientists and students of the Siberian Federal University 2010 in the vil--‐ lage Farkovo of the Turuchanski region, where live the Selkups of Krasnoyarsk Krai, it was founded that situation with native language knowledge by Selkups children is awfully difficult [3; 10; 11].

In such a way we can suggest that languages of the Kets, the Nganasan, the Chulimts of Krasnoyarsk area and the Selkups are on the way of disappearing. However in all the territorial en--‐ tities of the RF, which constitute in Krasnoyarsk Krai, there are no regional regulatory acts con--‐ nected with definition of state politics principles in relation to both unique cultural heritages of these people in common or to attitude towards their native languages.

Canadian practice of aborigines’ language preservation

Because of it we can compare our situation with Canadian, where, according to the Consti--‐ tution of the country, indigoes peoples are divided into 3 groups: the Amerindians (who used to be called “Indians”), bastards (descendants of the Brits and the French, who married aborigines in the period of Canadian lands’ reclamation) and the Escimo--‐Innu [12]. By that there are 86 endan--‐ gered languages of indigoes peoples, including 9 “dead languages”. According to the data of V.A.Kozemyakina, only 3 languages of Canadian indigoes peoples have an opportunity to stay alive and actively function in these peoples’ culture. These are languages of the Iuits, Cree and Anish--‐ naabe [12].

Regulatory acts of the Canadian state according to the UNESCO documents guarantee indi--‐ goes people the right to use their native languages. Canada has strongly pronounced principles of state cultural politics in the sphere of save and development of aborigines’ languages. Indigoes peoples’ languages must become languages of infamilial and interfamilial communications. These languages must be used in social incommunal communications. Studying of native languages must become the base education practice in schools. Borders of language usage of Canadian aborigines must always develop by the way of including of new ways of social communication in the sphere of these languages. Constitution of Canada and following enactments must support and provide functioning of Canada indigoes peoples’ languages with the help of law mechanisms. According to the data of V.A. Kozemyakina, principle of active state politics in Canada is accompanied by pres--‐ ence of absolute value of native language usage [12].

Canada indigoes peoples have a brightly positive motivation to the corresponding identity, which heart is native language usage.

Conclusion

There is a number of subjects in the Russian Federation, for example, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Zabaikalye Territory and others also have rather developed regional law, connected with providing of the right of Northern, Siberian and Far Eastern indigoes peoples to study native language and its saving as an alive way of social communications. It appears that for realization of the second part of Sustainable development concept of Northern, Siberian and Far Eastern indi--‐ goes peoples № 132—p. founded by RF government regulation on the 4th of February 2009, all subjects of the RF, on which territory live these ethnocultural groups, must provide, as minimum, the second principle of the state language politics — to adopt regional normative acts, thus in--‐ cluding laws, which regulate saving of unique cultural heritage of Northern, Siberian and Far East--‐ ern indigoes peoples, state law guarantee for these ethnocultural groups to use their native lan--‐ guages in social communications. The first principle can rest upon already existent practice of those Russian regions, where such regulation documents already appeared.