Centre for Language and Brain Begins Cooperation with Academy of Sciences of Sakha Republic
HSE University's Centre for Language and Brain and the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) have signed a partnership agreement, opening up new opportunities for research on the region's understudied languages and bilingualism. Thanks to modern methods, such as eye tracking and neuroimaging, scientists will be able to answer questions about how bilingualism works at the brain level.
For several years, researchers at the Centre have been studying how language is processed by speakers of different languages, including Russian, Tatar, Uzbek, as well as Adyghe and other less-studied languages of Russia and the near abroad. The agreement with the Academy of Sciences of the Sakha Republic provides for conducting joint research in this area, sharing knowledge, and launching new research projects related to the study of the region's languages.
Yakutia is a unique region with two state languages, Russian and Yakut, as well as a number of official languages of the indigenous minorities of the North, including Evenki, Even, Yukagir, Dolgan, and Chukchi. According to the 2020 All-Russia Census, the Yakut language is spoken by more than 479,000 people.
One of the areas of joint research between the Centre for Language and Brain and the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha is how children and adults learn and use different languages, what factors influence language choice in different communicative situations, and how bilingualism changes the structure and functions of the brain.
Together with specialists from Yakutia, neurolinguists from the Centre for Language and Brain are planning to study how language develops in children in monolingual and bilingual environments, as well as in children with speech and language disorders. This will help to understand the mechanisms behind language development and create more effective methods for assessing and correcting language skills.
Nadezhda Vasilyeva, Leading Researcher at the Centre for the Study, Preservation and Development of Native Languages of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha, notes, ‘The agreement expands promising research areas, as modern neuroimaging methods will allow us to conduct more fundamental research on the mechanisms of bilingualism formation. Our cooperation will not only strengthen the scientific potential of both sides, but also become the basis for working out methods and technologies for the development of mother tongues and balanced bilingualism. We have planned a joint research expedition this year and are confident that the partnership will be successful and show excellent results.’
Scientists will also analyse how bilinguals read and perceive text in their native language, such as Yakut, and in Russian, and identify the specifics of the cognitive mechanisms involved in reading and comprehension. Such research is important for the development of educational programmes that take into account the specificities of bilingual learning.
Furthermore, digital tools in the Yakut language for the assessment of language and cognitive functions will be developed.
Olga Dragoi, Director of the Language and Brain Centre, notes, ‘The agreement opens up new opportunities for studying language processes in the unique cultural context of Yakutia. We are confident that our joint efforts will allow us not only to advance research, but also to make a significant contribution to the preservation and development of the region's less-studied languages.’
This project will be an important step in the study of linguistic diversity and the promotion of bilingualism in Russia.
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