DOI: 10.12995/bilig.8221 ISSN: 1301-0549

Russian Language Preference among Youth in Kyrgyzstan

Ertan Özensel
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This article aims to explore the reasons why Kyrgyz youth continue to prefer Russian in their daily lives more than thirty years after Kyrgyzstan’s independence. For this purpose, a quantitative study was conducted by administering a survey to a sample of 384 young individuals aged 15-39 living in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, who reported predominantly using Russian in their daily interactions. The findings indicate that the primary reasons for Kyrgyz youth preferring Russian in everyday life include their perception that they can express themselves and communicate more comfortably in Russian compared to Kyrgyz; the dominance of Russian as the language of education, business, public spaces, social settings, and peer groups in Bishkek; a lack of confidence in their Kyrgyz language proficiency; and the belief that speaking Kyrgyz in daily life may lead to perceptions of rural origin, judgment, or criticism. These socio-cultural factors emerge as significant contributors to this preference.

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