Negotiating heritage language and identity: a qualitative study of family language socialisation in urban Uzbekistan

Abstract

The main focus of this study is the analysis of negotiation of the use of the heritage language and the negotiation of an interethnic identity within multilingual contexts in which the heritage language is Uzbek, Russian and English. The qualitative sociolinguistic method was used in the study to obtain the data by means of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and naturalistic data of families’ interaction from the families of Tashkent and Jizzakh cities. The results indicate that the younger generations are increasingly dominated by Russian and English language thanks to the influence of education, globalisation and the aspirations of the future, with Uzbek language remaining as a sign of cultural identity and intergenerational continuity. This study draws attention to the intricate balancing act between maintenance of heritage language use and more contemporary multilingual mobility in post-Soviet Uzbek culture.