INTAS 2005-1000006-8374

Linguistic and ethnic revival in Russia: From policy to cultural diversity

From 2006-10-01 to 2008-09-30

Objective

_______________________________ is to [d - - - - - - - -] the reasons for the lack of integration of ethnic groups in Russian society and to [e - - - - - - - -] ways in which cultural diversity can be [e - - - - - - - ed] via new language policies relating to bilingualism or multilingualism. ______________________ a broad, in-depth [s - - - -] of the relationship between ethnicity and language policy in Udmurtia, on the one hand, and a comparison of approaches and policies in the EU towards cultural diversity, languages and ethnicity, on the other. [D - - - - - -] upon the disciplines of linguistics, sociology and social psychology, _____________________________ three issues: 1. the existing situation in terms of language use, ethnic/cultural attitudes, perceptions of identity and bilingualism; 2. why particular attitudes (as opposed to others) dominate the relationship between attitudes towards language and ethnicity and determine policies in these areas. [E - - - - - - -] is [- - - - ed] upon the factors - individual, family, network, group, government/media etc - that may be contributing to the construction and/or maintenance of these attitudes and finally, 3. how the current situation can be changed via the [p - - - - - - - -] of the factors that encourage cultural diversity or the removal of obstacles in the way of change. The research methodology will include 1) An in depth case study of one particular region - the Udmurt Republic, Russian Federation; 2) A linguistic analysis, including the use of subjective vitality questionnaires, of language planning and use; 3) A psychological analysis of attitudes towards language and ethnicity; 4) The collection and analysis of public opinion data on inter-ethnic relations in Udmurtia; 5) Interviews with pre-school, primary and secondary school children, university students, parents, teachers and heads of pre, primary and secondary schools; 6) A corpus linguistics analysis of official Russian, Udmurt and EU policy documents on languages, cultural diversity and ethnic integration; and 7) Interviews with key national, regional and local government policy and decision makers connected with linguistic, language ethnic and cultural policy in Russia. The results of the research will be: 1) The development of targeted linguistic, ethnic and cultural policies, helping Russia to [p - - - - - - -] its cultural diversity, to [e - - - - -] political stability and to [r - - - - -] the prospect of ethnic conflict and 2) A deeper academic understanding of the [i - - - - -] of Russian reforms on linguistic, cultural and ethnic policy in the more remote parts of Russia and the implications of these policies in Udmurtia; 3) presented to Russian policy-makers at federal and regional level. Results will be [d - - - - - - - - - ed] via the internet, at international conferences, through journal articles, book chapters and in a joint book based on this INTAS project

Project reference: INTAS 2005-1000006-8374

Status: Completed

Programme acronym: INTAS

Coordinator

University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom

Participants

University of Joensuu, Suomi/Finland; Udmurt State University, Russian Federation; Udmurt State University, Russian Federation; Udmurt State University, Russian Federation

DIALFIN

Dialectal variation and the definition of finiteness: Finite and non-finite dependent clauses in two dialect clusters

From 2009-10-01 to 2011-09-30

Objective

Despite its importance in modern linguistics as both a theoretical and descriptive tool, the notion of finiteness still lacks a widely accepted definition. In the literature it is often [a - - - - ed] that the finite or non-finite status of a clause is actually the result of a complex interaction of several semantic and syntactic features, yet there is no [a - - - - - - - -] on which features are relevant and how they are realised on the morphology of the verb.

________________________________ a general theory of finiteness [b - - ed] on a solid empirical foundation. More specifically, ______________________ documenting variation in the complementation system of a set of endangered dialects, and [a - - - - - ing] this variation in terms of the semantic and syntactic features that together define the notion of finiteness.

The dialects to be studied are the extreme Southern Italian Dialects Salentino and Southern Calabrese. These dialects are unique in Europe in that they show strong variation between an Italian-type system of complementation, with an infinitival verb, and a Balkan-type, with a morphologically finite verb. Furthermore, the finite/non-finite contrast is spelled out also on other elements of the dependent clause besides the verb, such as the complementiser. Finally, the existing descriptive literature on these dialects is [f – r] from being [e - - - - - - - - -], and recent fieldwork has found several previously unknown verbal forms. These dialects therefore provide an ideal empirical foundation for any theory of finiteness which [a - - s] at universal validity. More precisely, they could provide the fine-grained [e - - - - - - -] needed to establish which of the many features related to finiteness is indeed relevant, and how these features are mapped onto the verbal morphology and other elements of the clause.

In order to build such a solid empirical base, _________________________________ extensive fieldwork with fluent speakers, thus contributing also to the endeavour to document endangered languages in Europe.

Project reference: 235244
Status: Completed
Programme acronym: FP7-PEOPLE

Coordinator

The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom