The analysis of the scientifically-linguistic literature allowed us to state that the scientists mark out various components in the structure of a linguistic situation.
Researching the language situations is multidimensional and it includes the various questions connected with ethnodemographic and social structure of society, languages distribution and language competence of the population. The importance of the studying is defined by establishing dependence of development of languages’ public functions and extralinguistic factors determining this development, and also interrelation of the social and linguistic processes concerning the sociolinguistics theory and having scientifically-practical value by forecasting the national-language development.
Language situation is a macrosociolinguistic phenomenon consisting of extralinguistic and actually linguistic components forming original process. In scientific literature of previous decades the language situation was substituted with the concept «a language condition» though these terms aren't identical. The language condition assumes fixing language life of a society at a certain stage of its development.
As it is known, the scientific concept «a language situation» includes various factors: nationaldemographic (national structure of region’s inhabitants, moving ways of different nationalities’ inhabitants, their social differentiation, educational level), linguistic (a structural and functional condition of this or that language, existence of functional styles for applying in various dialogue spheres, existence of terminological systems, written traditions), material (existence of dictionaries, phrase books, manuals), the human factor (valuable orientations of informants, their language competence, readiness to be trained to the second language independently). In sociolinguistics, as it is known, there are distinguished social, communicative and language situations with complex of factors determining language life of a community, a republic or a state [1]. We think there is the most substantiated block diagram offered by A.N.Baskakov who sorts out linguis-
tic, sociolinguistic and ethnolinguistic components of a language situation [2]. The logic gradation of common philosophy categories with the components correlating as «the general — especial — individual» is considered as the basis for it.
Scientific and practical interest to the problem of language situation is caused by necessity of the deciding the actual sociolinguistic problems, the problems of conscious regulating the language situation. To learn all complexity of real language life of human societies is difficult without multilateral and complex studying. It particularly concerns the polyethnic societies where languages never function separately and are always interconnected into difficult and multidimensional macrosystems.
Problems of language policy and language situation arise at any stage of society development by interaction of two or more peoples (polyglot collectives) and when there is the problem of choosing a communication medium for mutual understanding and arrangement of public life and also when there is an aspiration of using the native language at any situation. Only correct language policy and measures of arranging the language life with considering both personal language rights and the minority nation should promote a peaceful co-existence of the people in the multinational state, preservation and development of national cultures and languages, linguistic and cultural variety in the world.
Studying language behavior, language consciousness, the language competence and language orientations of different ethnic groups’ representatives, classes, social strata and groups represents a scientific and practical interest in the modern multipolar world, in the conditions of globalization, dialogue of cultures and cultural revival of national minorities.
One of the central problems of sociolinguistics is the language functional features’ analysis referring to a proper language situation. Functionality of language is always connected with its role in a concrete society and with executing the problems in various social spheres. The language situation represents various forms of languages interaction in the course of serving all the social spheres of any people’s life.
According to extended opinion in linguistics a language situation is a component of many-sided structure of social relations within the limits of this or that society. V.A.Avrorin thinks that the language situation is characterized by interaction of numerous conditions and elements making its structure and settling down at different levels. The real sociohistorical conditions are the most important ones. Spheres of the people’s life activity, their set and character can be changed depending on historical and social processes. It is immediately reflected in the character of existence forms of language and followed by the changes in the language situation [3].
First of all, the language policy deals with a language choice, the language existing form, a language unit for communicative purposes. Programs of the language policy are made for the solving the society’s language problems. The considering macroproblems concerning the distribution of language education according to dialogue spheres (official, daily, school, mass-media, religion, fiction and so on) develops into studying of language education functioning and the language situations’ describing.
The analysis of concrete language situations allows to develop the modern theory of languages coexistence and interaction as social institutes, and also to predict certain tendencies in their development both in social and proper linguistic aspects.
To define the basic communication medium in the international context in the conditions of globalization and extending economic integration is extremely important. To define operating language is a legal issue. Considering conflict situations the international cooperation sphere demands to take into account the supranational nature of legislative maintenance guaranteeing the international uniformity of the basic contract rules and the definitions of specific terms.
The complex problem of language policy and language planning, the problem of functional differentiation of various ethnic languages and basic languages of interethnic dialogue mobilize the statements having political, socio-economical and culture-lingual nature. The volume of private communicative functions of language depends on external factors: whether the people has his own statehood or not, social and legal status of the people, the national policy in the polyethnic state etc. Insufficient account of the general tendencies of language development, and also underestimation of sociological factors lead to failures in social and language forecasting.
Now we intend to state the set of language situation’s criteria arranged in its sociolinguistic component and can be used as parameters of pedagogical measurement of a current linguistic situation in Republic of Kazakhstan. This component of a language situation is thought to define the content-cognitive aspect of its pedagogical component as it is measured by following categories: the status of languages, the linguistic competence and the language policy [4].
There author's vision of formation conditions of domestic polylingual education realizing is presented below.
In any polyethnic and polylanguage state the languages differ by a functional purpose, prevalence degree, number of informants and etc. Creating the state’s optimum language space means an accurate definition of languages’ functional parity with a worthy place taken by the state language.
Status planning of languages in the sociolinguistic space of modern Kazakhstan is defined by the state foreign and home policy. The first one is integration-oriented into the world community, the second one is directed to citizens’ consolidation and formation of the Kazakhstan patriotism. The organic set of these priorities of social and economic relations’ strategic development has caused a linguistic mosaic where the Kazakh language has the state status, Russian is as language of international dialogue and English is as the language of integrating into world economy.
Social-pedagogical conditions of formation of polylingual education (sociolinguistic component)
T a b l e
The English language’s status in the Kazakhstan educational space isn't doubted and discussed while the defining or, saying more exactly, the recognizing of legislatively confirmed status of the Kazakh and Russian languages cause a lot of polemic both of constructive and destructive character. Depending on the situation the adequate description of functioning of the Kazakh and Russian languages in republic is certainly to be impossible out of their interrelation since the one of the basic directions of a language policy was the status planning that meant the necessity of formation of expanded Kazakh communicatively-language space that inevitably crossed with existing Russian communicatively-language space. As E.D.Suleymenova truly states, the crossing zones have become a place of a special intention for both languages [5].
While the status of the Kazakh language unequivocally has been recognized as the state one, the status definition of Russian language varies from its taking as language of international dialogue and as official language functioning equally with the state one.
The priority of the Kazakh language’s development in Republic of Kazakhstan is connected, first of all, with the fact that Russian language doesn't need a special state support at the present stage because of its functional activity having been provided by the Soviet period of language development while the Kazakh language has been forced out of almost all spheres of social-political life. Therefore the problem of viability has got extremely great value for it.
The necessity of revival and development of the Kazakh language, the appointment of state status was a principal point of many vivid discussions. In this respect the one of the main tasks is to create necessary conditions for Kazakh language’s becoming the government and office work language. However, the Kazakh language doesn’t adopt this platform yet, anyway in an undoubted state of successful realization of the 2001– 2010 years State program of languages development.
According to the above one should note a brightly planned tendency of defining the status of Russian language as the language of international cooperation. It is connected not only with a policy of Russian language’s positioning in the post-Soviet space, but also a formation of the new content of the international cooperation of Kazakhstan and the Commonwealth countries, moreover, the Russians intend to do it relying upon not the Soviet past but the possibilities of Russian language as the modern communication medium opening broad opportunities for a person’s career and personal development.
Language is certain to be out of spheres of administrative command methods. Therefore, the objective complications of purposeful russification’s consequences eliminating throughout several generations create the serious obstacles for high-grade development of the Kazakh language. Lack of this problem’s experience is difficult to compensate by adopting of some replacing each other acts and program documents.
Recession of required level of intensity concerning the present problem is easy to be noticed. It becomes habitual. Here is necessary the original push causing a public resonance and activating the intellectual and spiritual investments to provide the decision of some burning questions concerning the strengthening of the language’s state status forced out of a natural language landscape recently. The cultural project «Triunity of languages» having highlighted new problems connected with the state status of the Kazakh language became the very social «catalyst». A high dynamism of integration processes has set the task of the Kazakh language’s surviving in the conditions of a rigid competition with such world languages as Russian and English. And it has become obvious at once that there is not enough doing for the real statement of the Kazakh language’s state status:
- the complaints concerning that the language practically hasn’t been developed for 70 years;
- over 5 000 new terms have been introduced by the terminological commission;
- working out of proper language constructions, turns of speech which are necessary for a state administration (why only for a state administration?);
- releasing of terminological dictionaries’ set (31 volumes).
By the way, how is it reasonable to translate the words such as «loose leaf binder» into the Kazakh? What is cultural-historical importance and economic and linguistic effect of these actions? Isn’t the statement of problems of a state language’s development adequate to a real language situation? After all, the language’s state status isn’t the power’s restrictions within the limits of a state administration.
Another thing is the onomastics commissions’ work in arranging of historical-geographical names and developing of an ethnotoponymy. The cultural-historic importance of the fact that the historical names of four regions, 64 districts, 12 cities, 957 auls and 1001 education, health services, culture organizations having been restored is difficult to overestimate [6].
The complications of bringing the special professional terms being developed according to phonetic, graphic and lexical language requirements into common use are clear also.
«Unpopular» measures can not be excluded either. Within a rather economic stability of the Kazakhstan society this problem, to our opinion, can be «sharpened», but not at the expense of mutual reproaches and search of answers to a question «who is guilty?». Forcing to search for charges and justifications it leads away from crucial idea.
Thus, language planning in Republic of Kazakhstan is built to date in a sphere of following status languages’ registrations: a state language (the Kazakh language), language of integration into world economy (English and other foreign languages), language of the international cooperation (English and other foreign languages, and also Russian), language of international dialogue (Russian with a tendency of transition to the Kazakh language), minority language (native languages of national groups). As a whole, language development in the republic is carried out in trinity of strategic directions: expansion and strengthening of sociallycommunicative functions of the Kazakh language as a state one, preservation of common cultural functions of the Russian language, development of other languages of the people of Kazakhstan.
Mostly defining the content of linguistic education the sociolinguistic component of a language situation defines or should define by the terms of linguistic competence the volume of linguistic knowledge, abilities and skills of the languages’ using finally to cause in total the emotionally-valuable attitude to them and to be caused by these generated attitude.
We believe the basic criterion of selection and scoping of languages’ knowledge in the content of linguistic education consists in its purpose. So, English, other foreign languages, and also Russian language‘s knowledge should be selected in the extent necessary for the special purposes in professional sphere taking into account their economic reasonability.
Moreover, these very languages in organic unity with Kazakh and other minority languages in the national, i.e. the Kazakhstan, educational space should be acquired by the learning in the extent necessary for international dialogue and their using in institutional and in extrainstitutional fields taking into account economic reasonability and preservation of political stability in the country. Extent of the state language’s knowledge providing and strengthening its consolidating function at the using by all republic citizens on the basis of an absolute recognition of the priority in the Kazakh language’s developing should be especially protected and supported.
Finally the extent of contacting languages’ knowledge should be balanced in the content of linguistic education so that each member of the Kazakhstan community will have generated a high level of language tolerance and linguistic pluralism.
References
- Baskakov A.N., Nassyrov O.D. Language situations in the Russian Federation’s Turkish speaking republics // Languages of the Russian Federation and abroad: the status and functioning. — 2000. — P. 36,
- Baskakov А.Н., Nassyrov D., Davlatnazarov M. Language situations and language functioning in the republics of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. — М.: Pedagogika, 1995. — P. 43.
- Avrorin A. The problems of studying language functionality. About the problem of sociolinguistics subject. — L.: Science, 1975. — P. 6–12.
- Suleymenova D., Shaimerdenova N.Zh. The dictionary of sociolinguistical terms. — Almaty: Kazakh University, 2002. — P. 133.
- Suleymenova E.D., Smagulova Zh.S. Language situation and language planning in Kazakhstan. — Almaty: Kazakh University, 2005. — P.
- Altynbekova O.B. Ethnolanguage processes in Kazakhstan. — Almaty: Economy, 2006. — P.