Ethnic identity of kazakhstani young people in relation to language

Abstract

This paper explores the ways Kazakhstani young people define themselves ethnically. For this purpose, the survey was conducted among bachelor students of a Kazakhstani university to find out personal
information about respondents, their linguistic competence, their religious and ethnical belonging, and
their choice of ethnicity in case they had a chance to choose at birth. The results of the survey showed
that participants mostly refer themselves to ethnicity of their parents in ethnically homogeneous families,
and to ethnicity of fathers – in ethnically mixed families. The study did not reveal any dependence of
ethnical identification on place of birth, language competence and religious attachment. The goal of
this paper is to contribute to understanding of the situation in Kazakhstan and to proper elaboration of
adequate national programs.