Language shift: borrowing of Russian conjunctions in Evenki

This paper analyzes of borrowing of Russian conjunctions in Evenki speech, as a manifestation of ongoing language shift under the influence of the dominant language. The aim of the study is to identify patterns in the use of the Russian conjunctions i (‘and’), a (‘but’), ili (‘or’) and to assess their impact on Evenki syntax. The data come from recordings of oral speech of speakers of the Eastern dialect living in the village of Iengra, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The Iengrinskii Evenki National Nasleg (the smallest administrative unit in Yakutia) is the only place in the region where the Evenki language functions in daily informal settings; however, Russian has already become the language of primary communication here. Our research demonstrates that the Russian conjunctions are systematically used in Evenki, replacing the traditional means of coordination and partially changing basic word order. These changes are indicative of an overall shift in the balance of language dominance. The results underscore the complicated nature of syntactic influence in bilingual contexts and highlight that the borrowing of functional words, like conjunctions, can be an indication of language shift. Our study provides a detailed analysis of the role of each of the borrowed conjunctions and of the influence of Russian syntax on other components of Evenki.