The Impact of National Identity Revival on the Language Ideologies of Russian-speaking Ethnic Kazakhs

Abstract

During the Soviet period, Kazakhstan’s sociolinguistic environment was dominated by the Russian language, which functioned as the language of education, administration, and urban life, while Kazakh was largely associated with traditional and less prestigious contexts (Smagulova, 2008). Following independence in 1991, language policies have promoted Kazakh as the state language and as a symbol of independent Kazakhstani identity, contributing to the process of national identity revival. However, a significant group of ethnic Kazakhs continues to rely on Russian as their primary language of communication and demonstrates limited proficiency in Kazakh. Despite their relevance in the context of national identity revival, Russian-speaking ethnic Kazakhs remain underexplored in existing research. Adopting a qualitative phenomenological approach, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with 12 participants aged 20 to 31 from northern regions of Kazakhstan, as well as country’s largest cities of Astana and Almaty, using a combination of three complementary theoretical frameworks: Bourdieu’s (1991) theory of symbolic power, Woolard’s (1998) framework of language ideologies, and Norton’s (2001) concept of imagined communities. The results indicate that participants negotiate their identities between ethnic belonging and linguistic competence, often positioning language as symbolically important but not essential to being Kazakh. While many express positive attitudes toward the revival of the Kazakh language, their perspectives are often ambivalent, reflecting tensions between symbolic expectations and the practical value of Russian. Participants also report experiencing social and symbolic pressures to learn and use Kazakh, including feelings of inadequacy, linguistic insecurity, and exclusion. Overall, the study highlights the complexity of language ideologies in contemporary Kazakhstan and underscores the need for more inclusive language policies that recognize diverse linguistic realities. It recommends promoting Kazakh in ways that reduce-stigma approaches that support gradual and empowering language acquisition among Russian-speaking ethnic Kazakhs.