The Language Situation in the Republic of Mordovia: main trends

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2020-51-3/196-205

Abstract

The article analyzes the language situation in the modern Republic of Mordovia (RM), which is a multi-ethnic region. The main ethnic groups in the republic are Russians, Mordovians and Tatars. Mordva is comprised of two subgroups – Erzya and Moksha. The dominance of the Russian language in the republic is obvious, which is due to the assimilation processes that has been taking place in the region for many decades. At the same time, Mordovian languages are taught in the schools of the Republic of Moldova; there are national (Moksha, Erzya, Tatar) schools, national newspapers and magazines, programs on national languages on the republican television and radio. However, ethno-cultural organizations of the Republic of Moldova consider it necessary to further expand state support for the Mordovian and Tatar languages.

Among the national intelligentsia, primarily teachers and scholars of philology, there are two main points of view regarding further development of Mordovian languages. The first one supports separate development of the Moksha and Erzya languages. The second one does not actually contradict to it, but considers it necessary to create a unified literary Mordovian language based on the synthesis of Moksha and Erzya. Activists of the Foundation for the Salvation of the Erzyan Language, who consider this move as another step towards the “artificial assimilation” of the Erzyan, strongly oppose this project. The discussion about a single literary Mordovian language has been excessively politicized. Neither the leaders of Mordovia, nor the supporters of such a language aim to enforce it to population. A significant part of the Moksha and Erzya intelligentsia preferred to wait and see rather than oppose to the project.
To sum up, the linguistic factor in Mordovia is closely interconnected with the ethno-political situation. At the same time, the identified problems of linguistic situation in the Republic of Moldova did not undermine the high level of ethnic tolerance typical for Mordovia and the entire Volga region.

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