A COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION OF LANGUAGE ECOLOGY AND LANGUAGE POLICY IN POST-SOVIET CENTRAL ASIA

In the late Soviet era, the domains of use of languages were largely a function of ethnic groups’ status in the Soviet administrative hierarchy. Russian was at the top; below it were the eponymous languages of the non-Russian 14 “Union Republics;” all other languages were used in relatively narrow sets of domains. The “Union Republic languages” included five in Central Asia-- Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek. These languages’ use in fewer domains than most other Union Republic languages profoundly affected their expansion into new domains after 1991. Two other factors affecting this primarily rooted in the Soviet era were the ethnic composition of the republics upon the USSR’s collapse and their populations’ language repertoires. In addition to these “Soviet heritage factors,” language policy and ecology have also been shaped by each country’s nation building project, its international orientation, the nature of its political system, and its economic resources. Russian today remains more widely used in high prestige domains in Central Asia than in all other former Soviet republics except Belarus. However, Russian is less used in a wide variety of domains in Central Asia than it is in “autonomous” units of the former RSFSR.

December – 1986: Evaluation, Causes and Representation in Art

The authors of the article make an attempt to analyze the events that took place on December 17–18, 1986 in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, using the methodology of “cultural trauma”. The December events are defined as a multifaceted social and humanitarian problem. It is shown that the December events must be assessed comprehensively as a historical, social, humanitarian phenomenon. The reasons for the December events were determined by the dismissal of Dinmukhamed Akhmedovich Kunayev, the crisis of communist political ideology, the political, economic voluntarism of totalitarian power, the narrowing of the scope of the Kazakh language, the ecological crisis of Soviet Kazakhstan, the emergence of the history of the third generation of the Soviet people. In general, the December events are viewed as an open form of healing the mental wounds of the Kazakh people inflicted by the administrative decisions of the Soviet red empire. Despite the fact that the December events as a social phenomenon are more than a quarter of a century old, the Decembrists and their activity do not leave the agenda in the public consciousness. The importance of using the December events as a universal tool in the formation of various forms of social practice is growing. The conceptualization of this point of view in the article is determined by the representation of the lessons of the December events in contemporary Kazakh art (sculpture, cinema, literature, theater). At the same time, the article also shows that the representation of the December events in art is the form and content of the “healing” of the trauma of the December events.

Creativity of Otezhan Nurgaliev and Reflections of Martin Heidegger About the Word

The article analyzes the work of the outstanding Kazakh poet Otezhan Nurgaliev and the ideas of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger about the power of words and the essence of poetry in his work “On Poets and Poetry. Hölderlin. Rilke. Trakl ” on the basis of theoretical and methodological research in domestic science and world philosophy, it is also assessed whether the prerequisite for the emergence of language and the basis of the beginning of being is poetic. In the poet’s poems and reflections, the subtext of symbols and poetic images related to the spiritual being and social reality of society are traced, their significance in understanding the realities of modern society and modernity are determined. In the collection of poems «School of Athens» Otezhan Nurgaliev opened to Kazakh readers the wisdom of world philosophy and the ancient era from a new side in the language of poetry, which is close to its national reality. This approach was mastered by the poet through world philosophy and literature, as well as oriental culture, national spirituality, turkic traditions, and folk wisdom published at that time.

The Importance of Tradition and Value Orientations in the Realization of Spiritual Rebirth

The article analyzes how important traditions and value orientations are as influencing factors in the work carried out on the basis of the "Rukhani Zhagyru" program. Guided by the theoretical foundations of renewal, the authors focused on the originality of renewal in the conditions of modern Kazakhstan and describe the impact of various historical changes of the last century on the consciousness of modern society. It is important that the traditions and values which are important in the course of spiritual modernization were formed in accordance with the national consciousness and proceeded from the sources of spirituality of the Kazakh people of the past epochs. Only guided by such a position, Kazakh society can give birth to systemic cultural values, combining genuine renewal with spiritual revival. It is important to characterize the possibility of renewal of national values from the cultural and anthropological point of view and consider the importance of the place of historical sources and national literary relics in their socio-philosophical substantiation. At the same time, the focus on the issues of implementation of the state programme, its beneficial impact and the importance of considering national values in the modernization of the cultural sphere increases the value of scientific concepts related to spiritual modernization.

AN ANALYSIS OF SALVATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

This article intends to investigate this issue objectively and honestly without bias from the comparative viewpoint between Islam and Christianity. The methodology of the article is to have a comparative analysis of the concept of salvation in both Islam and Christianity by presenting the similarities and differences. This article utilises passages from the Qur’an and the Gospel as primary sources, which will be complemented with journal articles as a secondary source. The first section looks at the terminology of ‘salvation’ within Islam and Christianity from the viewpoints of sin, repentance and forgiveness, as salvation in both Christianity and Islam means saving from the consequences of sin, and in both religions this involves repentance by humans and forgiveness by God. The second part of this article will examine how Muslims and Christians view Jesus in relation to salvation. This is tied to salvation because the death and resurrection of Jesus is how Christians believe salvation has been accomplished. The final section of this article analyses the God doctrine of Christianity and the God concept of Islam from the comparative perspective with regards to the topic of salvation. This comparative analysis will be important in highlighting the similarities between the two Abrahamic faiths, and that such commonalities can be used as a basis for respect and peaceful co-existence between Christians and Muslims.

Cultural and Philosophical Analysis of Interethnic

In a globalized society, the issue of interethnic relations is one of the most important human relations. The article identifies the foundations of interethnic relations in Kazakhstan and focuses on its cultural and philosophical aspects. Scientific analysis is carried out, studying the peculiarities of interethnic relations in modern society. A special place in this article is given to the study of national issues, the relationship of ethnicity with other social actors. The culture of interethnic relations is defined, its historical character and values are studied.

Oriental Elements of Russian Folk Speech and Folklore

This study analyses the Eastern character of the Russian folklanguage and folklore which connected whith the character of national mentality. The cultural contacts of Russian people with the Turkish and Finno-Ugrian people in the Volga basin were presented by N. S.Troubetzkoy (1927) who formed the new theory-from Russian culture. Our scientific investigation of the Russian folklanguage and folklore is motivated by the works, which demonstrated the insufficiency of this domain. The results of our comparative investigation prove the Eastern traits of Russian folklanguage and folklore, namely, we discovered the parallel structures in the Eastern languages and folklore.

Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Process of Development of the Onomastic Space of Almaty City in the Conditions of Globalization

The process of globalization affects literally all spheres of public life of society, in which, undoubtedly, the protective mechanisms of the language are included, aimed at strengthening the national immunity of the language, strengthening the national identity of the state. The problem of language, including onomastics, is one of the strategically important areas of state policy. The article reveals semantic and word-forming features, quantitative and qualitative indicators of ergonyms as an important linguistic element that makes up the onomastic space of the Almaty city. These names require a comprehensive study, since they are an important factor that forms the linguistic, cultural and socio-ethical consciousness of the masses, residents and guests of the metropolis, foreign tourists, and also play an important role in the education of the younger generation. The study of the linguistic features of signage on the streets of the city,commercial enterprises, expressed in different languages as a result of the merger of many cultures and languages in the linguistic landscape of the city, will allow us to determine the modern cultural and social appearance of the metropolis, the quantitative and qualitative ratio of national content names, general directions of development. The positive influence of the globalization process can be called the fact that the onomastic names of Kazakhstan, including the onomasticon of the mega polis, are actively involved in the world, international information space. However, on the other hand, excessive Americanization, the tendency of Westernization, and the predominance of the English language weaken the mechanisms of nominating onomastic names in the state language; minimize the ethno-cultural component and the national content of the semantics of ergonyms. As a result of a comparative statistical analysis of the names of commercial enterprises (some shopping and entertainment complexes, business centers, restaurants, cafes), financial, educational institutions (banks, exchange offices, pawnshops and kindergartens), primarily attracting the attention of consumers on the streets of Almaty, the proportion of foreign-language names and ergonyms in the Kazakh language was revealed and comments were made. Recommendations on the ordering and coordination of urban onomastics for a more effective organization of the language space of the metropolis are given.

Dialogue of East and West on the Example of Arab-Muslim Сulture

The dialogue expresses the simultaneous coexistence of the past and the present, the preservation of continuity between them. The Arab-Muslim civilization, in its heyday, embodied the ideal of dialogue between East and West. The purpose of this study is to study the mechanisms of intercultural dialogue of the Eastern Renaissance era, analyze them for their application in the conditions of the modern globalized world. Islam played a key role in the formation and development of the Arab-Muslim civilization. Religion, along with philosophy and science, played the role of a connecting link in the spiritual and intellectual life of medieval Muslim society. Dialogue is possible when, in the collision of different cultural traditions, some new unifying knowledge is synthesized. The development of their own spiritual and religious movements as Sufism among the peoples of Central Asia conquered by the Arabs indicates that the Arab-Muslim culture was not limited to Islam. The peoples of the Arab Caliphate preserved and developed their distinctive cultural and religious traditions.

Religion as an Instrument of Soft Power in International Relations

The article examines the cases of using religion as a “soft power” in the example of Russia and Turkey. Based on foreign policy strategies, each state forms its own discourse in the use of religions as “soft power”. The article substantiates the idea that world religions have the greatest potential in solving interstate issues, as carriers of a unique historical experience of spiritual and political globalization, as institutions of spiritual power that accumulate significant material and other resources, as well as as institutions of civil society that promote the values of freedom and humanism. The use of religion as «soft power» becomes another argument in criticizing the theories of secularism. The analysis of the discourse of religion as a “soft power” was made on the example of the foreign policy strategies of Russia and Turkey, taking into account their political authority in the international arena, as well as their perception as one of the centers of world religions.