Pakshina I. A., Maskaeva E. N. Ethnolanguages in the Media Space of the Republic of Mordovia

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Original article
ISSN 2076-2577 (Print), 2541-982X (Online)
doi: 10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.334-347

Ethnolanguages in the Media Space of the Republic of Mordovia

Iraida A. Pakshina
Elena N. Maskaeva
Scientific Center of Social-Economic Monitoring State Institution, Saransk, Russia

Introduction. The transformation of the information space entails changes in the communication practices of the speakers of various ethnic cultures. Internet resources combined with traditional media provide new, previously unknown opportunities for the presentation and broadcasting of cultural values and unique features of ethnic groups. This situation actualizes the need to study the level of the use of media products in the languages of various ethnic groups. One of the objectives of the study is to assess the media us of the residents of the Republic of Mordovia in the languages of the titular ethnic groups.

Materials and Methods. The methodological basis was the data of sociological studies. The article summarizes the results of a representative questionnaire “Interethnic, ethno-confessional relations, language situation and migration processes in the Republic of Mordovia” conducted in 2022 and 2023, and a survey of experts “Ethnolanguage situation in the Republic of Mordovia” conducted in September 2023.

Results and Discussion. The results of the study of the language preferences of the population allow stating the predominant demand for Russian-language media products among the majority of the respondents. The audience of television, radio broadcasts, and printed materials in Moksha, Erzya, and Tatar languages is a small proportion of the respondents of Mordovian/Tatar nationalities. The main reasons for the rejection of media in the Moksha and Erzya languages were the lack of knowledge of the languages and lack of interest in the content of media products in the Mordovian languages. It is revealed that the content of media resources in a minority language is mostly indifferent to the native speakers themselves, who make up the target audience. The largest proportion of the respondents who found it difficult to answer was also noted among Moksha and Erzya population.

Conclusion. In order to attract the interest of a wider audience to the products of the republican media in the Mordovian/Tatar languages, it is advisable to conduct a marketing study of the preferences of consumers of media resources. It is necessary to change the concept of forming programs and broadcasts in the language of the indigenous peoples of the Republic, provide them with more rated airtime, and attract the readership with popular headings, collections or pages for various age groups, interesting and creative projects, continue broadcasting educational cycle programs that allow everyone to master Mordovian/Tatar language. It is advisable to expand the presence of national languages in the most popular Internet resources. At the same time, the content should not be formal or official. The materials of the article may be useful for researchers and government representatives interested in the problems of preserving, popularizing and promoting media resources in the languages of the titular ethnic groups.

Keywords: languages of the titular ethnic groups, minority languages, media resources in the national language, consumers of communication media, media space of the region, demand for national media products, Republic of Mordovia

Funding: The study was carried out as part of the implementation of the research project “Monitoring the ethnolanguage situation in the Republic of Mordovia” of the Thematic plan of the Scientific Center for Socio-Economic Monitoring.

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Pakshina I.A., Maskaeva E.N. Ethnolanguages in the Media Space of the Republic of Mordovia. Finno-Ugric World. 2024;16(3):334–347. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.016.2024.03.334-347