Multilingualism, nation branding, and the ownership of English in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Abstract

This study examines the ownership of English and linguistic (in)security of multilingual English learners in two post‐Soviet nation‐states. Using the chronotopic and scalar analysis of discourse, I examine students’ ideologies of English vis‐à‐vis their linguistic repertoires in the context of national imaginary and globalization. I utilize the concept of ‘nation branding’ to trace the relationship between language ideologies and broader sociopolitical factors, including neoliberalism. The analysis of 60 individual student interviews revealed that the state‐circulated nation‐branding discourse is a powerful tool for instilling the sense of linguistic ownership. The findings showed that students in Uzbekistan regard English as opportunistic and more valuable in the global market than their local languages. In contrast, students in Kazakhstan see all of their languages including English as pivotal in enacting trilingual identity at local, national, and global scales.

The rhetoric of 'internal' branding in Nigeria's rebranding campaign

“…With respect to the branding potential of languages as an important resource for local strategies in nation branding, Brennan and Wilson (2016) investigate how in Shetland and Western Ireland, meanings associated with language are connected with how crises are framed and constructed in discourse. In a related study, Djuraeva (2022) utilises the concept of "nation branding" in two post-Soviet Union nation states -Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan -to trace the relationship between language ideologies and broader socio-political factors by examining students' ideologies of English vis-à-vis their linguistic repertoires in the context of national imaginary and globalisation. It is interesting how Lee and Kim (2021) explore South Korea's pandemic public diplomacy in the context of her national responses to COVID-19 pandemic, adopting sentiment analyses of social media and international news media which suggest that the country is perceived as a model on how to cope with the pandemic by international audiences.…”

Sociolinguistic aspects of polylinguistic (trilingualism) education in the Western region of Kazakhstan

“…As Ahn and Smagulova (2021) note, English in Kazakhstan remains inaccessible to the majority of the population while relatively small group was mostly accessible to a relatively small group of wealthy middle class having better access to English language resources. However, a high level of motivation to learn English as a prestigious language opens many economic (Djuraeva, 2021) and educational opportunities (Zhilbayev et al, 2019). The issue of trilingualism is especially acute in the western region of Kazakhstan, where the economic point of view is the largest oil and gas producing region country.…”