Экология языка в странах Балтии: взгляд китайских русистов

ENAt present, the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) have history-based complicated relationships with Russia. This is reflected in many significant spheres, and specifically in language policy. On the basis of observations of the peculiarities of language policy in the Baltic states, the article analyzes the state of language ecology (i.e. how language diversity is preserved) of these countries, including the specificity of the social position of the Russian language. The article characterizes the main periods of various kinds of language policy in the region under consideration during the 20th century: strict Russification during the period of the Russian Empire and the following short-time liberalization; adoption of the highest legal status of the national languages during independence; Russification during the first stage of Soviet power – from 1940 to 1941; bilingualism up to the time of the Soviet Union disintegration, preferential use of the Russian language in many spheres of activity; proclamation of the national languages as only state languages in the course of formation of the modern sovereign states. In the 20th century, the Baltic states turned into certain test grounds of using various types of language policy; the social positions of the national languages have been frequently and radically changed. The article analyzes the laws on language adopted in these countries recently, their compliance with the legislative norms of the EU, and the social position of the Russian speaking minority.In order to ensure balance in the regulation of the state of language ecology while forming the language policy priorities, it is necessary to take into account, first of all, the regularities of language de velopment and interaction between the languages; it is also necessary to give up narrow nationalism, which should be a special issue for the Baltic countries. The Russian language, which plaid a significant role in these regions during the Soviet and pre-Soviet time has the right to continue to perform important communication functions there in the future as well. Keywords: language ecology; language policy; language situation; sociolinguistics; Russian; Russian Studies in China. [From the publication]