DOI: 10.25136/2409-7144.2017.7.23479

Abstract: The subject of this article is the relation of modern student youth of Yoshkar-Ola to the Mari language, as well as place of this language within the system of its communication and value interests. The task at hand is viewed with consideration of the opposition of ethnic factor inherent to the Mari El Republic (Russians, Mari, and other ethnic groups). Its relevance is associated with the need for studying the current socio-linguistic situation in the polyethnic constituents of the Russian Federation, and the place of national (regional state) languages within them. The article manifests as a generalization of results of the sociological survey “Social Portrait of Student Youth”, conducted in 2015 by the department of Sociology of the Mari Scientific Research Institute of Linguistics, Literature, and History among the students of two universities (Mari State University and Volga State University of Technology). The scientific novelty of this work consists in the applied empirical material that is introduced into the academic discourse for the first time, as well as its problematic (communicative and value components of the Mari language in perception of the modern student youth of a polycultural city) that is also being examined for the first time in the regional ethno-sociological and socio-linguistic science. Attention is centered around the following aspects of reflection of the students regarding the Mari language: educational practice (place of Mari language in the system of studying/already learnt languages), communication prospect (necessary knowledge of Mari language for future life), educational paradigm (necessary teaching in all schools of the Republic), and ethnic-value reflection (acknowledgement of Mari language as native). The article proves that the Mari language as the regional state language in a modern polycultural city Yoshkar-Ola preserves its importance, primarily within the system of communication and value interests of the Mari student youth; however, even in such environment it loses its positions, but maintains its ethnic value significance.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2017.3.23680

Abstract: The subject of the research is the attitude of married couples living in the cities of the Mari El Republic towards the Mari language, the place of the Mari language in the communication and values system of an urban family. The problem set by the authors is viewed taking into account the ethnofactor opposition between a mononational Mari family when both spouces identify themselves as Mari and multicultural family when one of the spouces of Mari and the other is Russian. The rationale of the research is caused by the need to study the modern sociolinguistic situation in polyethnic Russian Federation constituents and to define the role of national (regional) dialects. The research is based on the sociolinguistic data obtained in 2012 by the sociological department of Vasiliev Mari Research Institute of Language, Literature and History as a result of the survey dedicated to the topic 'The Language Situation in the Mari El Republic'. The research methods include statistical analysis, systematisation, analysis and generalisation. The author has also used the sociological tools such as random non-repetition quote sample, standard inteview, etc. The scientific novelty of the research is caused, first of all, by the empirical material that is introduced to the academic community for the first tijme, and, secondly, by the problems raised by the authors (communicative and values role of the Mari language in the minds of a modern urban family) that is viewed from the point of view of regional ethnosocial and sociolinguistic studies. The authors focus on the following questions that allow to define the attitude of spouces in the aforesaid two types of married urban couples towards the Mari language: recognition/denial of Mari as a native language, competence in Mari, concerns about the future of the Mari language, attitude to the status of the Mari language and its functions in the society, and prospects for developing Mari as a state language. The authors of the article prove the fact that mononational and multinational families have very different attitudes to the Mari language. Multicultural families tend to deny the ethnic importance of Mari which creates opportunities for their further language assimilation.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2017.2.22739

Abstract: The subject of the research is the foreign speech communication of Mari youth. The purpose of the article is to define the place of the Russian and English languages in the verbal communication of contemporary young people aged 15 - 29 years old, residing in the Republic of Mari El and identifying themselves as Mari. The rationale of the research problem is caused by the need to analyze today's sociolinguistic situation in polyethnic constituents of the Russian Federation and the role of state and foreign languages in these constituents. The topic is also important as part of studies devoted to the ethnocultural integration in a society. The empirical basis for the research is the sociolinguistic data obtained in 2012 by the Sociology Department of Mari Research Institute of Language, Literature and History named after V. Vasiliev in the process of the population survey devoted to the topic 'Linguistic Situation in the Republic of Mari El'. The research methods used by the authors include: statistical method, systematisation, analysis and generalisation. The authors have also used sociological tools such as random non-repeated quota sample, formal structured interview, etc. Sociolinguistic data used by the authros in their research are introduced in the academic literature for the first time and analyzed depending on respondents' places of residence (village/city) and educational background (secondary education/higher education or incomplete higher education). The research is focused on two questions that clarify the nature of the foreign speech communication of Mari youth. The first question is related to using non-ethnic (foreign) language in a situation of everyday communication (with their parents, hubands or wives, preschool or school age children). The second question is related to self-assessment of their verbal skills in relation to different kinds of speech activity (readiness for qualitative foreign communication). The authors of the article prove that Mari young people have a high level of linguocompetence in Russian and low level of linguocompetence in English. The Russian language is actively used by them in everyday life and often performs functions that could be performed by their ethnic language.