Russian language in Ingush schools: on the problem of bilingual education from the perspective of a world-systems approach
A. A. Izgarskaya1, X. I. Khatsenko2
1Institute of Philosophy and Law, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
2Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Novosibirsk, Russia
Keywords: bilingual education, world-systems approach, Ingush language, language policy, linguistic capital
Abstract
Introduction. The research is devoted to the problems of bilingual education and the preservation of the native languages of the peoples of Russia, using the Republic of Ingushetia as a case study. The aim of the study is to answer the question of how global and internal socio-economic processes influence language policy. Methodology. The theoretical and methodological foundation is a synthesis of the world-systems analysis (I. Wallerstein, G. Arrighi) and P. Bourdieu’s concept of forms of capital. Discussion. This synthesis allowed for the problem to be analyzed as a consequence of the cyclical fluctuations of a territorially vast semiperiphery (strategies of “integration” and “de-linking” with the world-system) and the socio-economic hierarchy, in which language is considered a form of cultural capital possessing varying degrees of convertibility into other forms of capital (economic, social, symbolic). Historical evidence demonstrates how language policy towards the Ingush population changed depending on the overall strategy of the Russian/Soviet state. In the modern period, the Ingush language, despite natural bilingualism and its official state status in the republic, is in a «vulnerable» position according to the UNESCO classification. The school serves as a key institution that not only reproduces the nation but is also capable of reinforcing social inequality through linguistic standards and curricula. The education system faces a lack of high-quality textbooks, bilingual teaching methodologies, a shortage of qualified personnel, and institutional conditions that diminish the status of the Ingush language. The existing support for the Ingush language at the regional level proves insufficient to bridge the gap in the convertibility of linguistic capitals. Conclusion. Russia’s language policy has a pendulum-like character, oscillating between a tendency towards diversity and a tendency towards intensified unification (through Russification), influenced by world-systemic and geopolitical factors.
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