HSE Publishing House

In the book, the bilingual community of Mariupol (coastal Azov) Russian G reeks serves as an example on the role of the language in the process of ethnic identity. Urums, one part of the community, speak Urum language (one of the Turkic languages), whereas the native language of another part of the community is Rumei language (the G reek group of the Indo-European Family). The monograph for the first time undertakes the analysis of the identity of this group according to the constructivist approach to ethnicity, and language preservation is considered in the context of language-loyalty of this group. The analysis of the self-identity of Turkic-speaking G reeks helps better understand ethnic processes, including those in stable communities which have consistent characteristics. The study is based on the author’s field research as well as archive sources and presents a considerable amount of new data for the scientific review.

This book is intended for ethnologists, linguists, sociologists, and anyone interested in ethnic processes in the post-Soviet territories and preservation of endangered languages.