Visual multilingualism in the Arctic minority context of indigenous urban communities (Enontekiö, Dudinka and Khanty-Mansiysk)

• Published in: Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja
• Main Authors: Duray, Zsuzsa, Horváth, Csilla, Várnai, Zsuzsa
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura 2017
• Subjects: Arctic; Dudinka; Enontekiö; Evenki; Hetta; khanty; mansi; nenets; Nganasan*; Sámi; Mansi
• Online Access: https://journal.fi/susa/article/view/70249; https://doi.org/10.33340/susa.70249

The article summarizes some of the results of research on the current linguistic and cultural identity of the Sámi community in Enontekiö, Finland, of Nenets, Dolgan, Nganasan, Evenki and Enets communities in Dudinka, and of the Mansi community in Khanty-Mansiysk in the Russian Federation. The research focuses on analysing the linguistic landscapes of Enontekiö, Dudinka and Khanty-Mansiysk. The visual materials on linguistic landscape in general, and schoolscape in particular analysed in the paper were collected by the authors during their fieldworks: 2015 in Hetta, Enontekiö, 2008 and 2016 in Dudinka, and 2015 in Khanty-Mansiysk. We conclude that there is a direct correspondence between the representation of the minority languages in the broad linguistic landscape of the area and the official language policy of the state in question, the differences observed at the territories under investigation originate from the officiallanguage policy in the given state. The only domain of linguistic landscape in all the territories where the minority language is represented on its own or in combination with the majority language is that of educational and cultural institutions. The lack of monolingual minority signs in public spaces can also be the result of the fact that the use of the minority languages in writing is a recent development in all of these communities.