LING 11.26 Languages of Russia and the Former Soviet Union

When asked what languages are spoken in Russia, most people would probably say Russian. Yet, Russia and the former Soviet territories stretch from the icebergs of the Arctic to the steppes of Central Asia and are home to more than 150 languages from a multitude of language families, including Indo-European, Uralic, Turkic, and Mongolic.

This course will explore the rich linguistic landscape of these territories from a linguistic, as well as geographical, historical, social, and cultural standpoints. We will begin by tracing the diffusion and migration of different language groups from the Middle Ages to the present time. We will then focus on examining the phonetic, morphological, and semantic diversity across different languages and learn their distinct writing systems. Finally, we will analyze how language policies of the Russian state impacted the evolution and preservation of the regional languages.

This course examines the evolution of languages in different regions of Russia and the former Soviet Union, highlighting present-day efforts to document and conserve endangered languages and the challenges encountered by language activists. In terms of content, the course combines academic readings with popular and opinion pieces and videos.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:INT or SOC; Lang:LRP; WCult:NW

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Department-Specific Course Categories

Linguistics