The broader frame for this article is the fact that despite the unique geopolitical, economic and social challenges that shaped distinctive sociolinguistic contexts in the former Soviet Union (FSU) countries, the appropriation of Soviet-era ethno-national approaches in current nation-state building projects have in fact, worsened the quality of life for non-titular language groups. Moreover, because of globalization and the pervasive spread of neoliberal ideologies related to language and education, such groups increasingly feel pressure to learn the national language(s), as well as "global" languages such as English.
However, rather than accept majority and minority as being binary and fixed categories, what we are exploring is the way minorities are in fact, "minoritized", i.e., the process by which minorities are positioned within the broader socio-economic contexts they reside in which then have ramifications regarding issues of access, equity, and inclusion. Blommaert (2010) discussed this when he discussed the "various practices in which a minority is constituted and perpetuated, as well as the various practices by means of which such constituted minorities react and resist these practices" (p. 14). However, what Blommaert does not directly address here is agency and process-how do those minorities get situated and how does that positionality change or shift both at micro and macro-levels? It is this process of being minoritized that we are calling "minoritization". "Minoritization" then could be considered the process in which minorities are, in fact, constructed. This article explores this process by examining how institutions and structures bound and privilege different communities and how different actors co-create their identities (either individual or group) in relation to other groups by specifically focusing on two populations, Dungans and Koreans. Additionally, by focusing on minoritization as a process, we also explore how despite these political, economic, demographic and cultural pressures, minority language communities continue to maintain or reclaim their languages in this transforming social order. Relatedly then, how do groups contest, challenge or negotiate their identities in this dynamic region (broadly) and in Kazakhstan (specifically)? By using minoritization as a lens then, this article attempts to capture a more nuanced understanding of the experienced realities of power dynamics in the region (broadly) and in Kazakhstan (specifically) concluding with a more critical interrogation regarding sociolinguistic fluidity (and stasis) in the region.
