The Status of English and Russian in Uzbekistan Musayev Tohirjon Abstract

The Status of English and Russian in Uzbekistan

Musayev Tohirjon

Abstract

Uzbekistan is a multinational country with the Uzbek language as the only official state language. The Russian language performs the function of a lingua franca for all the ethnical minorities and has been widely used in the country as a second mother tongue. However, since the declaration of independence the importance of the English language has been increasing in all aspects of Uzbek people’s life. Having the status of foreign language Russian and English are quite different in terms of spread and development. Nevertheless, each of them has had and continues to have an important role in society. This paper focuses on the educational and social aspects of status and roles of the English and Russian language in Uzbekistan and illustrates the attitude of people living in this country towards these two languages. The work also analyses how educational reforms connected to both languages have impacted on language situation in the country.

Keywords: English, Russian, lingua franca, educational reform, presidential decree

 

Introduction

Since the Republic of Uzbekistan was declared independent in 1991, the roles of languages used in the country started to change, shifting in dominance and significance in all spheres of Uzbek people’s life. The Uzbek language acquired its position as the only official state language, while Russian was given the status of foreign language and lost its power as “Uzbek’s second mother tongue” , however, preserving its importance on a communicational level and the function of lingua franca for ethnic minorities. English, in its turn, has been continuously increasing in importance and acquiring the status of the most preferred foreign language to be learned.