Minority languages policy in Russia and France: history, current situation, and perspectives

About the authors:

Evgenia V. Yataeva, Cand. Sci. (Ped.), Associate Professor, Department of French Philology, University of Tyumen; e.v.yataeva@utmn.ru

Florian H. A. Guiral, Senior Lecturer, Foreign Languages and Intercultural Professional Communication Department for Law and Economics, University of Tyumen; f.giral@utmn.ru

Abstract:

The subject of this article is a comparative analysis of the policy towards minority languages on the territory of the Russian Federation and the French Republic. This comparative study allows tracing historical changes in the status of minority languages existing on the territory of these countries, as well as to put forward hypotheses about changes in their status due to the ongoing political reforms. The scientific novelty of the research consists in an analytical view of the changes taking place in recent years in the language policy of both states, which can determine the place and status of minority languages for the coming years.

The legal acts of both states regulating their language policy served as the material of research. In this paper, these documents are studied through the lens of diachronic and synchronic approaches. In particular, the study provides a comparative historical analysis of the policy towards minority languages, as well as a critical analysis of the current status of minority languages in the light of new linguistic reforms approved by the two states, in terms of the possible implications of these reforms for minority languages.

The results of the study suggest that the policy towards minority languages, pursued by the Russian Federation and the French Republic, are diametrically opposed to each other, which is largely due to the history of the development of states and their political structure. With regard to the current languages policy of these countries, it was also noted that, in an increasingly globalizing world, foreign policy factors play a very important role in determining the minority languages status.

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