The Sociocultural Problemsof Teaching the Entsy Language

Abstract

In today’s world with the pressure of globalization, it is becoming increasing difficult for particular ethnicities to resist assimilation in a large society. The protection of the individual culture from homogenization and standardization is facilitated by maintaining and developing the ethnic language in particular, which is only possible on the basis of high-quality language teaching. Currently, a reduction is not only observed in the Entsys’ numbers, but also a drastic reduction in speakers of the Entsy language. This data indicates the presence of problems in education related to teaching the Entsy language. The objective of the article is to identify problems arising in the process of teaching the Entsy language which exist in the sociocultural sphere, and to suggest ways of overcoming them. The main methods used in the present paper include field study, questionnaires, interviews, content analysis. In the course of the study, by way of progressive solution of set tasks, the objective has been achieved: sociocultural problems of teaching the Entsy language have been identified, and solutions have been proposed. The main problems may be listed as follows: a reduction in the Entsys’ numbers; a reduction in the number of Entsy language speakers; the absence of an Entsy written language; the focus of the Entsy language and Entsy culture on domestic reindeer amidst almost complete disappearance of reindeer herding among the Entsys; the proclamation of the rights to access preschool and secondary education taught in the Entsy language, while in practice these rights are not exercised. The two main ways to solve the problems identified include the development of the Ensty written language and the revival of reindeer breeding. Keywords: indigenous peoples, northern territories, entsy, the Enets language, unwritten language, training, reindeer herding. The reported study was funded by Krasnoyarsk Regional Fund of Science according to the research project: “Development of scientific and methodological support for the preservation of a unique cultural heritage for the Ket and Enets ethno-cultural groups of indigenous small peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East living on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory”. The reported study was funded by Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Government of Krasnoyarsk Territory, Krasnoyarsk Region Science and Technology Support Fund to the research project No. 17-16-24601. DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-0297. Research area: culturology.