Article

Name: “And then we returned to the Mari village”: On the problem of new Mari speakers in old diasporas

Authors: Marina V. Kutsaeva

Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation

In the section Linguistics

Abstract:

This paper presents the findings from sociolinguistic surveys conducted in 2024 among the long-standing Mari diaspora communities in Bashkortostan and Tatarstan. The surveys focused on the phenomenon of “new speakers.” Of a sample of 287 respondents, 18 were identified as new speakers. Their linguistic biographies differ significantly from those of traditional speakers, primarily due to their childhood residence in dispersed settlement areas following Soviet and post-Soviet migrations. Upon returning to their ancestral homelands, these individuals had to reintegrate into the Mari-speaking community, a process involving unique motivations for language acquisition and a profound drive for identity completion. This study explores how Mari speech practices are shaped by two core linguistic ideologies. The ideology of authenticity links the ethnic language to particular rural areas (Mari villages), whereas the ideology of anonymity portrays Russian as the standard language for urban and public spaces. According to our previous research findings, the Mari language within traditional Mari communities is regarded as an integral part of the Mari people’s ethnic identity and sense of belonging. This perspective is consistent with the essentialist viewpoints commonly observed in minority language communities worldwide. Consequently, new speakers raised in Russian-dominant environments often encounter substantial social and psychological barriers. Upon returning to rural areas, they must navigate these essentialist views in order to reconstruct their ethnic identity and gain acceptance within traditional speaker communities. The article concludes that for these “new speakers,” language is not merely a tool for communication, but also a contested site of belonging.

Keywords: Mari language, new speakers, traditional speakers, speech practices, linguistic ideologies, ethnic language, ethnic identity, Mari diasporas

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