The Soft Power of the Russian Language. Pluricentricity, Politics and Policies

Exploring Russian as a pluricentric language, this book provides a panoramic view of its use within and\r\noutside the nation and discusses the connections between language, politics, ideologies, and cultural\r\ncontacts.\r\n\r\nRussian is widely used across the former Soviet republics and in the diaspora, but speakers outside Russia\r\ndeviate from the metropolis in their use of the language and their attitudes towards it. Using country case\r\nstudies from across the former Soviet Union and beyond, the contributors analyze the unifying role of the\r\nRussian language for developing transnational connections and show its value in the knowledge economy.\r\nThey demonstrate that centrifugal developments of Russian and its pluricentricity are grounded in the\r\nlanguage and education policies of their host countries, as well as the goals and functions of cultural\r\ninstitutions, such as schools, media, travel agencies, and others created by emigres for their co-ethnics. This\r\nbook also reveals the tensions between Russia's attempts to homogenize the 'Russian world' and the\r\ndivergence of regional versions of Russian reflecting cultural hybridity of the diaspora.\r\n\r\nInterdisciplinary in its approach, this book will prove useful to researchers of Russian and post-Soviet politics,\r\nRussian studies, Russian language and culture, linguistics, and immigration studies. Those studying\r\nmultilingualism and heritage language teaching may also find it interesting.