Dynamics of the number of Chuvash speakers on the basis of the 2002–2021 Russian population censuses

Abstract

The situation of the Chuvash language in the Russian Federation is presented in the light of the 2020 population census. The aim of the study is to understand whether the tempos of the language shift have changed compared to the previous decade. For the sake of comparison, the process of ethnic assimilation of the Chuvash population is also studied. The differences between the five regions with the highest concentration of Chuvash speakers are analyzed, and the position of Chuvash in Chuvashia is contrasted with the one of the official languages in the other five republics of the Volga Federal District. Research results. The analysis shows a serious deterioration in the quality of the 2020 census data compared to previous ones. This problem is partially solved by weighting them. The results show an average annual decline of about three percent of Chuvash speakers at both the Federation and Chuvashia levels throughout the 2010–2020 decade. This represents a doubling of the rate in comparison to the previous intercensal period. This degree of language shift is similar to that observed for Chuvash in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, but lower than in the Ulyanovsk and Samara regions. The other official languages of the District have drops in the number of speakers in their respective republics similar to those of Chuvash in Chuvashia, including Tatar in Tatarstan. An apparent exception is Bashkir, but the data also indicate serious issues for the languages of Bashkortostan.