Topic: 2024-Indigenous Languages
Country: Russian Federation
Delegate Name: Simon Rothstein
The Russian Federation recognizes the important role language plays in preserving cultural identity. With over 100 languages spoken across the country, and a great number of indigenous languages, we understand that these languages are essential to communication and a reflection of the culture. Russia is committed to the preservation of such languages to ensure that cultural traditions are passed on.
However, this is not a very positive situation: many indigenous languages of Russia are threatened with extinction, especially languages of small or rural groups. Although Russian is dominant in education, government, and mass media, many indigenous languages are fundamental and have been increasingly marginalized. Even with efforts aimed at linguistic diversity through regional language policies, the wide usage of Russian has led to decreased usage of indigenous languages. The majority of these languages also don’t have a standard written form, making them more susceptible and liable to be lost eventually. The Russian Federation believes that much more is needed to be done to safeguard our indigenous languages. We believe community-led initiatives are pivotal to this trend’s reversal. We hope to ensure the preservation of indigenous languages through their use by the community. Additionally, we feel reform in education is necessary for the allowance of language preservation. We must promote the use of indigenous languages in schools, and this can be facilitated by classes in dying languages. This will help young people to better understand and appreciate the diversity of languages when curricula incorporate these languages. Additionally, the necessity of documentation of indigenous languages is obvious. The majority of them exist only in oral traditions, without any written records whatsoever. The Russian Federation will support activities aimed at the documentation of these languages and the elaboration of written systems to preserve them for future generations. This will help guarantee that languages are not forgotten, even if they are near extinction.
In conclusion, the Russian Federation is committed to the preservation of its indigenous languages. We are conscious of the challenges and determined to continue to work with the international community to find solutions. The preservation of these languages is essential to our cultural identity and to global diversity.
