Studying the level of the Yakut language knowledge and reading of schoolchildren from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Abstract

The article considers the problem of the Yakut language attrition among children and young people for whom this is the language of origin. By means of sociolinguistic research, the article determines the attitude of the younger generation to their native language as a cultural phenomenon. A significant component of the research toolkit is our criteria for the cultural competence level. The article also presents the results of the sociolinguistic analysis of the factors reducing the linguistic and cultural competence of schoolchildren. The study allowed us to come to the conclusion about the need to publish special dictionaries containing a cultural component and explanations of the words that are difficult for modern youth to understand. In this regard, we describe the experience of developing an illustrated dictionary of Yakut mythological symbols and obsolete words based on the works included into the school curriculum. This bilingual dictionary is intended for pupils, teachers and students. Working with it will help develop students’ linguistic culture, skills in independent information search and interpretation of the deep meanings of fictional and folklore texts. In the Republic, this kind of dictionary has been developed for the first time. The publication of the “Illustrated Dictionary of Mythological Symbols and Difficult-to-Perceive Yakut Words: Based on Works of the School Curriculum” is timely and relevant. Serious work has been done to identify the typological characteristics of mythological symbols found in the works of the school curriculum.