The Dynamics of Multilingualism in an Arctic Language Ecology

The Anabar District

Bibliographic Data

ID12987591
AuthorsLenore Grenoble (0000-0001-8810-7395, North-Eastern Federal University, corresponding author), M I Kysylbaikova (0000-0003-2082-3883, North-Eastern Federal University), Ninel Malysheva (0000-0002-6358-4256, North-Eastern Federal University), Aitalina V Timofeeva (0000-0002-3310-942X, North-Eastern Federal University), Antonina Afanasyevna Vinokurova (0000-0003-0838-2958, North-Eastern Federal University)
Year2024
Volume17
Issue1
Pages246-280
Publication date2024-06-18
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language Contact (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1955-2629 • E-ISSN: 1877-4091
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/19552629-01701007
OpenAlexW4401177734
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited11

The Dolgan language is a Turkic variety, closely related to Sakha but differing from it due to contact, primarily with Evenki (Tungusic). We analyze the linguistic identity of translocal Dolgan communities in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the Anabar District, which is home to a minority of the larger group of Dolgan people. Linguistically, Anabar Dolgan is best classified as a northern Sakha variety with significant lexical borrowings from Tungusic. Anabar Dolgans consider it a separate language, and see themselves as speaking Dolgan, Sakha, or a mixture of the two. Their strong sense of Dolgan identity comes from an attachment to language, culture, and territory, an identity reinforced by social ties with and ongoing migrations to and from the Taimyr Dolgan-Nenets District, home to the majority of Dolgans. Data come from sociolinguistic questionnaires, structured interviews, and linguistic elicitation with 50 respondents, and a subset of open-ended interviews

Arctic · Ethnology · First language · Geography · Identity (music · Language contact · Linguistics · Multilingualism · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · Anthropology · Computer Science · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Philippine History and Culture · Artificial Intelligence · Ecology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access