"Against All Odds": Rhematization, Trans-scripting, and Collaborative Ecosystem in Alternative Music Scene in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This dissertation presents a qualitative investigation into the linguistic practices of alternative musicians in Kazakhstan, with a specific focus on the growing Indie and Underground scenes in Almaty and Astana. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with key participants, observations at live performances and festivals, and multimodal analysis of content, this research provides a comprehensive account of a previously understudied musical landscape. The data are analyzed through the theoretical lenses of rhematization, trans-scripting, and participatory culture. The study reveals that Kazakhstan’s alternative music scene is a dynamic sociolinguistic space where diverse actors actively shape the linguistic and sonic environment. The findings highlight a significant ideological divergence between the Underground and Indie communities, categorized along an axis of linguistic and aesthetic differentiation. Specifically, the Underground is frequently rhematized as Russophone and ‘heavy’, whereas the Indie scene is perceived as Kazakhophone and ‘soft’. However, this research also illuminates the agency of artists who reject these rigid categorizations, offering more nuanced perspectives that challenge the prevailing binary. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that despite dominant monolingual normativities, young alternative musicians embrace their everyday translingual realities. By associating translanguaging with ‘the sound of home’, these artists negotiate their identities through the strategic use of Cyrillic and Latin scripts, while simultaneously exploring the symbolic potential of Arabic and Turkic Runes. In doing so, they navigate a tension between normative monolingualism and fluid linguistic expression. Finally, the dissertation characterizes the scene through the lens of participatory culture, noting the blurred boundaries between musician and fan identities, the reliance on collaborative strategies within a precarious gig economy, and the evolving gendered power dynamics within the community. The work examines how musicians are creating the collaborative ecosystem that facilitates the development of the alternative music scene. As one of the first scholarly examinations of Indie and Underground music in Kazakhstan, this work asserts that the local music scene is a critical site for exploring language ideologies and translanguaging practices. It expands current understandings of scriptal variation as a resource for translanguaging and provides a foundational scholarly account of the functional mechanics of alternative music in contemporary Kazakhstan. In conclusion, this work highlights that the survival and vibrancy of Kazakhstan’s alternative music depend not only on linguistic choices but on a resilient participatory culture that reframes the artistic collaborative ecosystem as a vital response to economic and social challenges.