Languages of a Nation

Abstract

Two postulates about the role of ethnic diversity and the fate of languages in the world are revised on the basis of Russian materials. The author makes the following conclusions: (a) the ethnic fragmentation of the population and language diversity of the countries in the world do not correlate directly with their levels of democracy, presence of conflicts, and economic success and (b) widely publicized predictions about the quick extinction of most languages in the world have turned out to be a myth, and international campaigns and declarations in support of endangered languages were excessively politicized. The process of revitalization of languages is under way; they are acquiring a higher status, acknowledgment, and support on the territory of the former Soviet Union, including the minority languages of the peoples of Dagestan, the North, and Siberia. The state policy of providing an official status for regional languages and the ethnic component of the federative system as ethnocultural autonomy for individual regions and ethnic communities play a key role. A list of endangered languages is given; motives and factors of assimilation in favor of the Russian language in Russia are explained. Categories and social practices based on them, such as 1 and 1 are revised in favor of multiply and mutually nonexclusive approaches.