Wertheim Suzanne. Linguistic purism, language shift, and contact-induced change in Tatar

A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics. — Berkeley: University of California, 2003. — 3, viii, 280 p.This dissertation examines both the causes and symptoms of language shift using the specific case of Tatar in present-day Tatarstan. In Chapter One, Tatar is shown to be an example of potentially reversible “gradual language death,” where Russian is encroaching on Tatar functional domains. Bilingual Tatar speakers have a range of styles that can be organized according to level of language mixing, with pure Tatar on one end, pure Russian on the other end, and “mixed” styles in between. Members of the “Tatar Social Club”, young Tatar-Russian bilinguals, are carving out a new Tatar functional domain in an overwhelmingly Russian urban setting. Chapter Two shows how the language ideology that I call the “Tatar discourse of purity” is a significant part of the construction of the post-Soviet Tatar identity. “Pure” Tatar is implicitly defined as Tatar without Russian influence; influences from languages not perceived as threats can be interpreted as congruent with the post-Soviet Tatar identity. This language ideology is expressed through purification movements commonly found in postcolonial contexts, most notably through orthographic and lexical reform. In Chapter Three I examine one mixed style o f Tatar where speakers unconsciously use Russian words in otherwise entirely Tatar discourse — a sign of language attrition.