MULTILINGUAL TRENDS IN THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE OF KAZAN, RUSSIA, AS A REFLECTION OF AN EMERGING GLOBAL CITY

The ‘global city’ phenomenon and the issue of importing
‘foreign’ cultures/languages into the original homogeneous
linguistic-cultural urban environments are vital to understanding
how national identities are affected by globalization in urban
areas. The resulting cultural and linguistic heterogeneity of urban
communities makes them an even more interesting object of
research if the initial linguistic environment has already been bior miltilingual.
Kazan, capital of Tatarstan republic, Russia, represents a unique
blend of Russian and Tatar cultures. Russian and Tatar as two
official languages constitute the basis of its linguistic
environment. According to Shohamy et al. (2010) the shaping
and perspective of cities are influenced by policy makers’
decisions to market the cities’ identities. Kazan has recently
gained global exposure due to a series of international
cultural/sports events.
The purpose of our research is to analyse the reflection of
globalization trends in the linguistic landscape of Kazan and
assess the pragmatic potential of Russian, Tatar and English
languages.
In our research we used the following methods: qualitative vs.
quantitative data analysis; observational research; linguistic field
research in data collection and analysis.
Tatar is viewed as a national identity marker connected with the
notions of “national heritage”, “local flavour”, “traditions and
customs”. Tatar names serve the pragmatic function of
representing these values in the business world.
As Tatarstan’s second official language, Tatar is widely
represented in the official linguistic landscape of Kazan. Some
signs bear the marks of a failed attempt to convert Tatar into
Latin alphabet that was banned by Russian legislation.
Russian is viewed as a tool for reaching towards Russia’s federal
market.
Most signs/posters in Kazan are in Russian which reinforces the
image of Kazan as a major tourist destination aimed at the
broader population of Russia.
Difficult Tatar names of companies/products are adapted to
conventional Russian alphabet for promoting them in other
Russian regions.
English has remained socially prestigious in Kazan since 1990s’
influx of foreign businesses and cultural contacts.
Development of tourism in Kazan introduced the first road signs
in English. English translations appeared for road signs/company
names connected with the 2013 Universiade, 2018 FIFA World
Cup and other major international events in Kazan. Most
“translations” are transliterations bearing little resemblance to
real English and can be used by foreign visitors only for phonetic
purposes of pronouncing difficult geographic names correctly.
English company names are associated with global business
markets and international corporate standards. Apart from
international brands/companies, many local firms in Kazan bear
English names. Some represent transliterations of Russian words
or misspelled English words. Many names sound English but are
written in Russian alphabet. Some are blends of
Russian/English/Tatar words/letters.
Thus, diverse and inconsistent linguistic practices involving
Russian, Tatar and English in the linguistic landscape of Kazan
reflect its transition from a bilingual to a multilingual city. This
process is still ongoing and its results will require synchronic and
diachronic analysis in order to assess the impact of Russian, Tatar
and English on the national identities of local population. The
changing linguistic urban landscape of Kazan may prove to be a
key to understanding deeper sociolinguistic processes happening
in Russian multiethnic society.
Key words: global city, bilingualism, linguistic landscape