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Article In: Linguistic Landscape: Online-First Articles

Toponymic landscape change in Kazakhstan

Respondents’ attitudes to renaming, language choice, and the Latin script

ORCiD logo with link | L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
ORCiD logo with link | L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
ORCiD logo with link | Tallinn University
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Abstract
Kazakhstan’s urban landscape functions as a sociolinguistic palimpsest in which pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-independence layers of naming remain simultaneously legible and to which the ongoing transition to a Latin-based script adds a further layer. Combining field observation of the Linguistic Landscape of Astana with an attitude survey (N = 860), this study examines how toponymic change is evaluated by the population. Respondents endorse renaming in general terms and attach high symbolic value to Kazakh-language naming yet close to half still regard Soviet-era names as relevant and support for Latinization remains a minority position inside a large, undecided block. Official signage is meanwhile moving toward a Kazakh–English configuration from which Russian is visually absent, while support among respondents for bilingual naming rests on functional accessibility. We argue that the resulting gap between official inscription and survey evaluation is characteristic of gradual toponymic change in which multiple linguistic and historical layers remain simultaneously visible.
Аңдатпа
Қазақстанның қалалық ландшафты кеңестік кезеңге дейінгі, кеңестік және посткеңестік (тәуелсіздік алғаннан кейінгі) атаулар қабаттары қатар сақталып, бір-бірінен ажыратылатын әлеуметтік-лингвистикалық палимпсест болып табылады, ал латын графикасына көшу үдерісі оған тағы бір қабат қосуда. Астананың лингвистикалық ландшафтына жүргізілген далалық бақылаулар мен қоғамдық пікірді зерделеуге арналған сауалнама (N = 860) деректерін ұштастыратын бұл зерттеуде тұрғындардың топонимикалық өзгерістерге көзқарасы талданады. Респонденттер жалпы алғанда атауларды өзгертуді қолдайды және қазақ тіліндегі атауларға зор символдық мән береді. Алайда сауалнамаға қатысқандардың жартысына жуығы кеңестік дәуірдегі атауларды әлі де өзекті деп санайды, ал латын графикасына көшуді қолдаушылар азшылықты құрайды және бұл мәселеде ұстанымын айқындамағандардың үлесі едәуір. Сонымен қатар ресми тақтайшаларда орыс тілі жазылмай «қазақ тілі — ағылшын тілі» форматына көшу байқалады, ал респонденттердің екі тілде берілген атауларды қолдауы олардың функционалдық қолжетімділігіне негізделеді. Біз ресми тақтайшалардағы атаулар мен сауалнама нәтижелері арасында анықталған бұл алшақтық әртүрлі тілдік және тарихи қабаттардың бір мезгілде көрінісін сақтауымен сипатталатын, біртіндеп жүзеге асатын топонимикалық трансформацияларға тән деп тұжырымдаймыз.
Article outline
  • 1.Name changes in the Linguistic Landscape
  • 2.The Kazakhstani context
    • 2.1Kazakhstan since 1991
    • 2.2Language policy and the visible landscape
    • 2.3Toponymic change from independence to Latinization
    • 2.4Research questions
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Design
    • 3.2Field observation
    • 3.3Survey
    • 3.4Data analysis and reliability
    • 3.5Scope and limitations of the design
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Public awareness and the symbolic spatiality of Astana
    • 4.2Cultural and historical significance, and support for renaming (RQ1)
    • 4.3Linguistic preferences: Symbolic primacy and functional accessibility (RQ2)
    • 4.4The Latin script: modernity and orthographic instability (RQ3)
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
    • 6.1Contributions and future research
  • References
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