Linguistic Ecology of the Arctic

Scientific results:

During the implementation of the project, the laboratory team carried out more than 10 scientific expeditions in the regions and cities of Yakutia, including in the Arctic. The expedition covered around 40 settlements, where more than 1,300 respondents were interviewed. We recorded about 750 GB of authentic audio and video data. In addition to that, more than 2,200 people have completed online and offline sociolinguistic surveys, and we collected statistical data on the Sakha language proficiency levels of 4,367 children.

In order to effectively study the functioning of the Yakut language and the languages of the indigenous minorities of the North and Arctic, the Laboratory applied the experimental method developed by Prof. L. Grenoble for the targeted collection of linguistic and sociolinguistic material. The main stages of the Laboratory's expedition activity were three stages of work: (a) semi-formalized, in-depth interview on the informant's linguistic biography; (b) construction of syntactic constructions by using suggested words and description of pictures; (c) construction of coherent speech by retelling a short animated film. The material collected by this method has being analyzed and put into scientific circulation in the form of publications and databases.

In less than three years the laboratory has won 12 scientific grants, executed 4 contracts, registered 18 databases and published 43 articles in Web of Science and Scopus journals, including 10 articles with Q1, 12 articles with Q2.

Much attention was paid to the support of academic staff. The lab employees have successfully defended 2 candidate and 1 doctoral theses. Young laboratory researchers, students and graduate students took part in scientific internships in leading Russian and foreign scientific and educational institutions in the area of ​​the project. 4 new educational programs were developed and implemented in the educational activity of the North-Eastern Federal University. The laboratory organized 3 scientific schools on sociolinguistics, 2 advanced training courses, more than 10 scientific conferences, seminars and round tables.

Implementation of research results:

The scientific collections in the form of databases of vocabulary of the Yakut language and its dialects, the languages of indigenous minorities on various topics (language consciousness, objects of animate and inanimate nature, language interference, tangible and intangible culture) are implemented in the educational process of the Institute of Languages and Culture of the Peoples of the North-East of the Russian Federation and the Institute of Foreign Philology and Regional Studies of the Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University as the basic for lectures and practical classes. The total volume of the collected materials, provided a basis for the databases, is appr. 750GB in the form of audio and video materials.

An assessment of the functioning and current state of the Yakut language and the languages of indigenous peoples of the North and the Arctic was made, which was successfully applied in improving normative and legal documents (Municipal Development Strategy, State Program on Language Policy, Concept for the Development of Culture and Spirituality, etc.) in the field of language construction and spiritual and cultural development of certain territories, namely:

• large-scale introduction of teaching of native (ethnic) languages with a gradual transition to school teaching in the native language;
• increasing the authority of local governing bodies to define a communicatively and demographically first language;
• consideration of the inclusion in the educational standard of the compulsory study of indigenous languages, including the title languages of the republics;
• cooperation with language communities and taking their opinions into account in forming the language policy, etc.

Organizational and infrastructural changes:

The Arctic Linguistic Ecology Lab as a new structural unit has been established at the Ammosov NEFU. It’s fully equipped with necessary infrastructure and facilities.

Education and personnel occupational retraining:

The members of the laboratory scientific team in the area of scientific research have prepared:

• monographs (including monograph chapters):
• «Language situation in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia): the Yakut language in conditions of linguistic heterogeneity (ethnosociopsycholinguistic aspect)» (by N.I. Ivanova, Publishing House “Nauka”, Novosivirsk, 2022, ISBN 978-5-02-041499-0);
• «Russian lexicon in the Tundra Yukaghir» (by S.N. Kurilova, Publishing House “Nauka”, Novosivirsk, 2022, ISBN 978-5-02-041495-2);
• «Yakut associative dictionary» (by L.S. Zamorshchikova, Publishing house of NEFU, Yakutsk, 2022, ISBN 978-5-7513-3449-9);
• «Landscape and culture of the peoples of Yakutia: sacralization, symbolic strategies, geocultural images» (under general editorship E.N. Romanova, Publishing House “Nauka”, Novosivirsk, 2023, ISBN 978-5-02-040975-0);
• «Associative dictionary of Yakut bilinguals of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)» (co-authored with I.S. Khokholova, Publishing house of NEFU, Yakutsk, 2023, ISBN 978-5-7513-3526-7).
• textbooks:
• Methodological instructions «Even literature» (by A.A. Vinokurova, Publishing house «Dani-Almas», Yakutsk, 2021, ISBN n/a);
• «Theory and methods of introducing students to literature of peoples of Russia in native literature classes in schools of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)» (by A.A. Vinokurova, publishing house «Dani-Almas», Yakutsk, 2021, ISBN 978-5-91441-335-1);
• «Sаkhа tyla (büchüm üle matyryjaala) / The Yakut language (practice)» (by N.V. Malysheva, Gagarin Yakut Republican Typography, Yakutsk, 2022, ISBN n/a;
• «Sаkhа tyla (uus-uran ааqyy) / The Yakut language (reading)» (by N.V. Malysheva, Gagarin Yakut Republican Typography, Yakutsk, 2022, ISBN n/a).

Prepared and promoted: 1 Doctor of Sciences thesis, 2 Candidate of Sciences thesis, 1 PhD thesis, 6 postgraduate thesis, 1 master’s degree thesis, 1 bachelor’s degree thesis.

The laboratory staff has undergone internships in:

• The “Polar Academy’ Institute of the Russian State Hydrometeorological University (St.Petersburg, Russia);
• Kazan State Energy University (Tatarstan, Russia);
• Amur State University (Blagoveshchensk, Russia);
• Ivannikov Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia);
• Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia);
• Department of Linguistics by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the Boğaziçi Üniversitesi (Istanbul, Turkey).

Employees of the Laboratory organized and staged:

1. Summer scientific school «Methodology of sociolinguistic research» (28 June–8 August 2021, Yakutsk);
2. Scientific and methodological seminar «Modern sociolinguistics: concepts, methods, objectives» (24–30 November 2021, Yakutsk);
3. Scientific and methodological seminar «Modern ethnopsycholinguistics: methodologies of research in the context of asymmetric bilingualism» (30 November–3 December 2021, Yakutsk);
4. Summer scientific school «Junior researchers of the Upper Yana» devoted to the 150th anniversary of the Verkhoyansk middle school named after Mikhail L. Novgorodov, the 2nd scientific and methodological school and seminar «Modern sociolinguistics: concepts, methods, objectives» (18–21 September 2022, Yakutsk);
5. Round table «Linguistic and cultural heritage of Northern Siberia and the Far East vs the challenges of the modern world» within the 9th International Siberian Historical Forum (16 September 2022, Yakutsk);
6. Scientific seminar «Linguistic and cultural heritage of peoples of the Arctic» (13–14 October 2022, Anadyr);
7. Scientific and methodological seminar «Field linguistics in the North: theoretical approaches and research methods» (3 March 2022, Yakutsk);
8. International scientific and practical school «4th Robbek readings (23–24 March 2022, Yakutsk)
9. International scientific colloquium «The Yhyakh national festival as a unique heritage of the Steppe Arctic (24 June 2022, Yakutsk)
10. Experts platform «Digitalization of the language diversity and cultural heritage of peoples of Russia: interaction of universities and institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences (in collaboration with the Institute of Linguistics and the Ivannikov Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences) within the 2nd All-Russian Forum «Universities and the development of geostrategic territories» (11 June 2022, Yakutsk);
11. Expert discussion “Linguistic ecology of the North and the Arctic” within the framework of the III All-Russian Forum “Universities and the development of geostrategic territories of Russia” (June 6, 2023, Yakutsk);
12. Scientific seminar “Development of space in the culture of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples” (June 5-8, 2023, Yakutsk);
13. Scientific seminar “The Arctic - a crossroads of languages ​​and cultures: potential, problems and solutions” (November 7-15, 2023, Yakutsk);
14. International scientific and practical conference “Linguistic ecology in the context of modern challenges” (November 9-10, 2023, Yakutsk).

Members of the laboratory’s research team have developed and are implementing 5 educational programs:

1. A collaborative project with Paris-Saclay University (Paris, France) in the training direction 06.45.01 “Linguistics and Literary Studies” (postgraduate studies). Place of implementation - NEFU, University of Paris-Saclay;
2. Educational program in the training direction 44.03.05 “Native (Yakut) language and literature and Tutoring in the field of education” (bachelor’s degree). Place of implementation - NEFU;
3. Educational program in the training direction 44.04.01 “Corporate and intercultural communication” (master’s degree). Place of implementation - NEFU;
4. Educational program in the training direction 44.03.06 “Pedagogical education (with two profiles of training). Foreign language (French) and Foreign language (English) in digital education” (bachelor’s degree). Place of implementation - NEFU;
5. Educational program in the training direction 45.04.01 “Philology. Corporate and intercultural communication" (master's degree). Place of implementation - NEFU.

Training courses:

1. “Possibilities of the LingvoDoc platform for describing the languages ​​of the peoples of the North.” (June 9-15, 2022, Yakutsk);
2. “Semiotics of Cold: the symbolic language of the Arctic” (November 28 – December 15, 2022, Yakutsk).

Cooperation:

• Chicago University (USA)
• The Institute of Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Saint-Petersburg, Russia)
• Adyghe State University (Maykope, Russia)
• The Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan, Russia)
• European University in St. Petersburg (Russia)
• Ivannikov Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia)
• The “Polar Academy’ Institute of the Russian State Hydrometeorological University (St.Petersburg, Russia) and others.