Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Junior
Major
Russian Studies
Institution
University of Kentucky
KY House District #
76
KY Senate District #
28
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Sadia Zoubir-Shaw
Department
Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures
Abstract
As a large nation covering 1/9 of the Earth’s surface, Russia and its language necessarily draw linguistic attention. Between the time of the Russian Revolution (1917) until now, Russian speakers (both from Russia itself and former Soviet territories) immigrated to the United States in four or five waves. Russian is currently identified as one of the world’s Critical Languages, according to the U.S. State Department. U.S. Census data indicate that Russian language spoken in respondents’ homes increased by 393% between 1980-2010, with just under a million people speaking Russian in their homes in 2011. English language use among this population is of interest, as is their continued Russian language use. Russian language use has implications for educational programs, policy development and community engagement.
Included in
Adult and Continuing Education Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Cultural History Commons, Russian Linguistics Commons, United States History Commons
Russian Language Use in the United States: Demographics and Implications
As a large nation covering 1/9 of the Earth’s surface, Russia and its language necessarily draw linguistic attention. Between the time of the Russian Revolution (1917) until now, Russian speakers (both from Russia itself and former Soviet territories) immigrated to the United States in four or five waves. Russian is currently identified as one of the world’s Critical Languages, according to the U.S. State Department. U.S. Census data indicate that Russian language spoken in respondents’ homes increased by 393% between 1980-2010, with just under a million people speaking Russian in their homes in 2011. English language use among this population is of interest, as is their continued Russian language use. Russian language use has implications for educational programs, policy development and community engagement.