Search

Purpose. The article examines the relevance of the Tuvan language in the media space from the point of view of Tuvan students today in order to determine the language preferences of Tuvan students in everyday communication; identify the language preferences of Tuvan students in the media space; assess the degree of awareness and interest of the studied regarding sources in the Tuvan language in the media space; clarify their position on the popularization of the Tuvan language in the media space. the media space. Different formulations of the concept of "media space" are considered. Method and methodology of study. The research is based on such methods as observation, content analysis of sources in the media space, a sociological method such as an online survey, as well as an analysis of the results obtained. Results. The results of a survey among Tuvan students are presented. It was found out that most of the studied group thinks and communicates in the Tuvan language, but there are also critically small proportions of those who do not use the Tuvan language at all. It was found out that the mixed use of both Russian and Tuvan languages prevails in the communication process. This is due to the Tuvan-Russian bilingualism rooted in the region. Today, Tuvan students are putting forward certain proposals to popularize the Tuvan language in the media space: advertising in Tuvan, entertainment content in Tuvan, video tutorials in Tuvan about the Motherland, development of mobile applications in Tuvan, and others. In general, the content in the Tuvan language in the media space is of interest to the majority of Tuvan students.

This article features monolingualism in the Tuvan-Russian bilingual community. Language acquisition, especially when it is the second language, follows psychological rather than linguistic patterns, e.g., assimilation and imitation. In this research, we made an attempt to study the individual psychological features of speech as a higher mental function. Our respondents positioned themselves as monolinguals and denied that they had an opportunity to practice their second language. The research objective was to identify and record some linguistic competencies in the Tuvan language in Russian monolinguals, as well as to conduct a qualitative analysis of their language skills. We used such diagnostic methods as clinical interview, observation, and questionnaires to obtain data on some linguistic competencies in the second non-native language spoken by monolinguals. While profiling a typical linguistic personality, we recorded some linguistic competencies in the second language that the respondents were not aware of. In the linguistic environment of the Tyva Republic, monolingualism is possible only at the early stages of cognitive development. In ontogenesis, it transforms into psychological bilingualism, and then into multilingualism. The Russian-speaking monolinguals of the Tuva Republic develop their speech competencies in a natural bilingual environment. As a result of the natural bilingual environment, Russian-speaking monolinguals develop unconscious speech competencies that actually make them bilinguals.

Introduction. The article examines results of associative experiments with native speakers of Tuvan and Buryat to analyze the color term ‘white’. Goals. The paper attempts conceptual and semantic analyses of obtained associative fields in comparison to traditional cultural representations of Tuvans and Buryats. Materials and methods. The paper considers materials of associative experiments attended by native speakers of Tuvan and Buryat in different years. Results. The study reveals that associative meanings of the color terms ak and sagaan are largely constituted by semes common to nomadic culture and relating to milk, white ritual food, religious representations of white as a pure and sacred color. In the associative thesaurus of Tuvan and Buryat, white conveys predominantly light semantics and positive emotions, correlates with a wide range of objects and phenomena of the outer world. Like in lexicographic sources, no semantics associated with negative emotions have been traced. However, despite such concepts as ‘death’ and ‘passing away’ are not associated with white color, nor there are any linguistic mentions — this color is involved in corresponding customs and rites. The experimental materials also show meanings specific to both the Tuvan and Buryat linguocultures, which results from differing ethnocultural traditions and language structures. In Buryat, such discrepancies occur in reactions of religious contexts — Sagaalgan, Sagaan Ȕbgen. In Tuvan, those are toponyms, such as Ak-Turug, Ak-Khem, and the reaction kara that has broad functional meanings. The analysis also shows that many associative values coincide with main meanings of corresponding lexemes (reactions/superordinates unge(n) and on). Conclusions. The study confirms that cultural and historical similarity plays an important role, and many ethnocultural stereotypes of native speakers of related languages have more conformities than differences.

Introduction. The article deals with absurd and paradoxical proverbs resulting from the categorization of proverbial semantics according to the criterion of ‘relation to reality’ in the ontological or logical aspects. Goals. The study aims to identify quantitative and qualitative features of ontological and logical contradictions to reality traced in semantics of Tuvan proverbs. Materials and methods. The work analyzes a total of 770 Tuvan proverbs contained in Tuvan Proverbs and Sayings (1966), Proverbs and Sayings of the Tuvan People (2020), and other sources. The publication employs the author’s methodology for semantics categorization of aphoristic units and their differentiation into semantic types according to the criterion of ‘relation to reality’. Results. The article reveals that one in eight Tuvan proverbs literally (in the direct sense) contradict the existing order of things in the world. The ontological nature of a contradiction to reality in a proverb is implemented via the semantics of the absurd, which is motivated by a situational or verbal context, and it is impossible to interpret the literal content of the proverb — from the viewpoint of logical (rational) thinking — being unaware of that very context. The logical nature of the contradiction to reality in the proverb is implemented via the semantics of the paradox, which can be motivated epistemologically, semantically or formally, and logically. Only one structural part of a proverb can be contrary to reality, and this part always dominates in terms of general content. The Tuvan proverbs that contradict reality are distinguished by the presence of absurdity semantics in one of their structural parts, and that of paradox in the other one. Conclusions. An unexpectedly large number of absurd and paradoxical proverbs in the Tuvan proverb corpus attests to that it is reality’s perception and comprehension — based on the ontological and/or logical contradictions to objective reality — that take a significant place in the Tuvan view of the world.

Introduction. The article examines the functioning of Tuvan in the educational system from a historical perspective throughout the 20th–21st centuries. The work analyzes language development endeavors as part of Tuva’s educational policy, summarizes outcomes of sociological surveys for actual attitudes of Tuvan speakers to their native language as a value. Goals. The paper aims to show the importance of the educational system as a key sphere for language vitality. Materials and methods. The analyzed data were obtained from the research projects as follows: ‘Tuvan for Children’ — a regional educational project attended by a total of 52,186 individuals since 2019 (2019–2020 — 22,931; 2021–2022 — 29,255); and ‘Traditional Family Values in Spiritual and Moral Education of Children and Youth in the Tyva Republic’ — a scientific project to have involved 2,083 respondents in 2022, and aiming to determine whether the latter view their native (Tuvan) language as a value. Results. Outcomes of three monitoring surveys show a year-on-year increase in the number of pre-school children that learn Tuvan and a sufficient language proficiency level of theirs. The study attests to that native language is viewed as a value of the ethnos, and it is family that contributes most to its preservation. Conclusions. In a historical perspective, native language teaching has played a significant role in the educational system’s shaping as such. The actual state support for native languages of the Republic manifested in official languages development programs has significantly facilitated the emergence of additional opportunities for native (Tuvan) language teaching and learning in educational institutions.

This psycholinguistic experiment included emotional rendering of Russian Internet texts by Tuvan-Russian bilinguals. It was based on the Bilingual Language Profile questionnaire and an authentic interface for non-discrete emotional text rendering. The research involved 65 Tuvan-Russian bilinguals and five texts previously classified by Russian monolinguals as "angry texts". All the participants fulfilled a bilingualism questionnaire prior to the test and were divided into three groups: 1) bilinguals with the dominant Tuvan language, 2) bilinguals with the dominant Russian language, and 3) balanced TuvanRussian bilinguals. The research examined the effect of subjective and objective factors of bilingualism on the comprehension of anger in these three groups of informants. The methodology included the method of psycholinguistic experiment and various methods of statistical analysis, e.g., Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, etc. The research refuted the hypothesis about the effect of objective (age, context, communicative activity) or subjective (competence, language ratio) factors in TuvanRussian bilinguals on the emotional comprehension of Russian texts. The emotional text comprehension appeared to depend on the dominant language.

The article presents an analysis of the problems of cultural transfer in the translation of two editions of M.B. Kenin-Lopsans monograph devoted to the description of Tuvan traditions in the Tuvan language Tyva chanchyl. Tyva chonnun ydyktyg chanchyldary [Tuvan traditions. Tuvan folk sacred traditions] 1994 and 1999, in the publication in Russian Tuvan folk traditions 2006. The authors note that cultural transfer causes changes in meanings, adaptations of information not only due to the fact that the translator does not have sufficient linguistic culture. The translator can be a natural bilingual who has been fluent in two languages since childhood, both linguistic cultures can be equivalent. Thus, the translated edition was prepared by two bilingual translators under the editorship of two Tuvan-Russian bilingual writers. But, nevertheless, the linguistic means of Russian culture cannot convey a number of Tuvan terms and expressions, and this imposes restrictions on translations. The authors show these examples by grouping the transformations of cultural transfer into four types of problems: distortion of meanings; incomplete transmission of information; disappearance of semantic constructions; inability to translate non-equivalent vocabulary. Phrases from the Tuvan text of M.B. Kenin-Lopsan, versions of the translated edition are given, and in some cases a more successful translation, according to the authors of the article, is proposed.

The article presents preliminary data on the intonation of the Tuvan folklore narration with specific focus to the relation between intonation and text structure. The analysis was carried out on the basis of four Tuvan folklore texts. Three hypothetical intonational correlates of the text structure were examined. First, we consider the difference in tempo of the main parts of the texts, following the idea of three-part structure of folklore texts proposed by V. Propp (beginning, complication and ending). The data obtained show no direct correspondence between the tempo of an utterance and its position in the text, as the tempo of the first and the last utterances and their ratio to the average tempo vary significantly from text to text. Secondly, it is shown that the texts contain a number of metatext markers, which are used quite often and are distinguished by the means of intonation (including changes in tone and intensity and separation by a pause). Thirdly, verbal forms with particle -tyr performing similar functions are examined. In contrast to metatext markers, they are not characterized by any intonational prominence, as the tone and intensity follow the general line of declination marking the end of an utterance. Thus, intonation plays an important role in forming the structure of Tuvan folklore texts, which, however, manifests itself only indirectly, in the way of emphasizing lexical means of structuring the text (metatext markers).