Oral speech peculiarities of repatriates from Mongolia

Abstract

The phonetics of the Kazakh language underwent significant changes during the Soviet period, influenced by the phonological laws of the Russian language. However, these externally imposed linguistic changes disrupted the internal phonetic patterns inherent to Kazakh, a member of the Turkic language family. A key issue in this context is the principle of synharmonism, which is integral to Kazakh phonology and remains a focal point in discussions surrounding the reform of the Kazakh alphabet. Linguistic scholars argue that the phonetic divergence between native Kazakh lexemes and borrowed words threatens the preservation of the language’s distinct phonological identity.
Despite these influences, the phonetic integrity of Kazakh has been relatively well maintained among Mongolian Kazakhs.
Eethnic Kazakhs, who lived outside of Kazakhstan and repatriated to their ancestral homeland following the country's independence in 1991 are officially called kandas (which means “of the same blood”). The oral traditions of these communities have played a crucial role in conserving key phonetic features such as sound interchange regularities, vowel harmony, and specific consonantal properties. To thoroughly examine this phenomenon, field research was conducted in 2023 involving Kazakh repatriates from Mongolia, aged between 22 and 70, residing in the Akmola region and Astana city. The analysis of linguistic data collected through structured interviews revealed the retention of phonetic attributes characteristic of traditional Kazakh speech. These include the continued use of affricates, systematic alternation of hard and soft sounds, and distinctive articulatory patterns in consonant pronunciation. Such findings highlight the resilience of Kazakh phonetic norms among repatriated communities, contrasting with phonetic shifts in Kazakhstan influenced by prolonged Russian linguistic contact.
This study underscores the significance of phonetic research in language revitalization and policymaking, emphasizing the necessity of aligning the Kazakh alphabet reform with the phonological principles intrinsic to the language. Moreover, it highlights the role of diaspora communities in preserving linguistic heritage, providing valuable insights into phonetic conservation in multilingual environments. Future research should further explore the impact of sociolinguistic factors on phonetic variation and investigate strategies to integrate historically authentic phonetic structures into contemporary Kazakh linguistic education and policy frameworks.