CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Page 106

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VI (1)
NAREK MKRTCHYAN
NEW LANGUAGE POLICY OF KAZAKHSTAN: A PROJECT OF
KAZAKHIZATION?
Abstract
The article aims to analyze the role and influence of the language policy
of independent Kazakhstan on identity construction processes of the Kaza-
khs. A language as a marker of ethnic identity emphasizes the boundaries
of the particular ethnic entity. In the wake of post-Soviet nation-building,
Nazarbayev's administration faced with challenges regarding the use of
native language in various spheres. This paper also develops the claim
that the marginalization of Kazakh’s language and ethnic identity is the
result of different historical processes carried out by Tsarist and Soviet
authorities. The paper also tries to examine the language policy of
independent Kazakhstan as a counter-hegemonic struggle aiming at overcome
the negativity derived directly from Russian colonial administrations. The
publicization of Kazakh language and transformation of the educational
system tend to provide a wide range of opportunities to establish the
hegemony of Kazakh identity or in other words to make Kazakhs first
among equals.
Keyword: Kazakh language, colonization, hegemony, kazakhization, nation-
building.
Introduction
After the declaration of independence, the government of the
Republic of Kazakhstan pledged to revive the native language. The
Nazarbayev administration initiated multidimensional policies in an
attempt to develop and publicize Kazakh language within informal
and formal institutions. The political system of sovereign Kazakhstan
has worked hard to initiate various cultural and social policies to
create a national identity for the titular group. Also, given the fact that
Kazakhstan has historically been multicultural and multiethnic
country, in which the Russian language played a dominant role, the
promotion of Kazakh language has become a strategically important
factor. Kazakhstan’s language policy is the reflection of its domestic
ethnic policies. In support of the idea of the construction of unified
and harmonious Kazakhstani society, a considerable emphasis placed
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