Identification of the students’ needs and interests in the use of literate speech as cultural capital

The study of speech literacy is a pressing issue across multiple academic disciplines, including sociology. However, there remains a dearth of research focused on the sociocultural aspects of speech literacy of the country’s population, particularly regarding the motivations of various socio-demographic groups to adhere to the norms of the literary language. The aim of this article is to study the interest of student youth in the use of literate speech as cultural capital. The publication is based on the results of a sociological study, carried out by the author among the students of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Kuban State Technological University” in May 2024. During the analysis of its results, the main motives of students to speak literately were identified: increasing employment prospects and career advancement; demonstration of a high level of education and/or social status; compliance with the demands of modern society. The author concludes that nowadays it is important for students to possess a literate speech (96 %). However, it is frequently observed that they tend to make speech errors (84 %) due to inattention (82 %).