Solbon International/Gorno-Altaisk State University
Altai Language Use in the Altai Republic Today
47th Meeting of the PIAC, Cambridge 2004
The author of this paper has spent four years working in close cooperation with three professors from the Altai Language and Literature Department of Gorno-Altaisk State University on an Altai morphological dictionary with definitions in Russian and English, and is able to shed some light on the present situation of language use in the Altai Republic of the Russian Federation.
This paper will explain:
- where the Altai Republic is and what are its geographical and demographical features;
- who the Altai people are, their subgroups, linguistic roots, physical features, and their typical occupation;
- why this particular ethnic group is unique and important historically and today
- what is the current situation of the use of the Altai language in the republic, how it varies between the subgroups, what good things are happening, and what challenges still need to be met.