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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 916

Part of Session 143: Language Change in Central Asia (Other abstracts in this session)

The negotiation of a civic and market identity: The case of language and Kazakhstani higher education

Authors: Ahn, Elise S.
Submitted by: Ahn, Elise S. (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research (KIMEP), Kazakhstan)

The perspective of language as being one of the components of the philosophical matrix of creating a civic identity within the nation-state is not singular to Kazakhstan but reflects the dominant attitude of Western governments towards the symbolic and substantive value of language in the unquestioned (and pragmatic) approach of nation-state building the 19^th and 20^th centuries. However, Kazakhstan’s language policy approach has some unique characteristics both in the field of language policy and planning, as well as regionally.

This paper provides a brief overview of the Kazakhstani language policy case, but focuses on the nuances of this process as observed specifically in its higher education (HE) sector. Since the establishment of the Republic after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1992, the government has been negotiating a fine line between actively constructing a Kazakhstani civic identity and not alienating its Russian speaking Slavic (23.7%) and other minority populations (Gradirovski & Espova, 2008). And as part of this process, while the Kazakh language has been elevated to the level of official language, Russian was given state language status (and also remains the language of wider communication in urban areas). Into this mix then is the emphasis on English language acquisition as part of becoming a globally competitive country (Kazakh, n.d.; Russian; n.d.).  Kazakhstan’s official linguistic trifecta then is Kazakh, Russian, and English. Against this somewhat delicate socio-political backdrop of Kazakh and Russian language planning, as part of internationalization processes, i.e., the Bologna Process, (Bologna declaration, 1999)), there is pressure for higher education institutions (HEIs) to provide an adequate number of courses in languages of wider communication.  But while political discourse regarding internationalization and becoming global players in various sectors is both diffusive and effusive, the implementation processes have had challenging ramifications for all the different stakeholders impacted by these processes.

This paper also examines the relationship between space, place, and aforementioned issues like access to higher education, etc. by adapting the view that studying space can provide insight into education-related issues of accessibility, location, and mobility. Moreover, tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow different variables like location of universities and students, poverty/income ratios, rural/urban demographics, and access to affordable and quality education to be layered onto place, revealing interesting patterns of uneven geographical development.

Thus, the aims of this paper are two-fold. By looking at the socio-cultural impact that policies like the Bologna Process have had on the Kazakhstani HE sector, this paper examines the discursal contradictions and tensions that exist in trying to construct a national civic identity and a market-driven, international one. Moreover, by extending the discussion to demographic information and other indicator data through the development of a GIS database, the link between social processes, space, and place are observed. This paper aims to contribute to existing body of language policy literature by taking an interdisciplinary approach in looking at the larger socio-economic contexts in which language policies are produced.