Between Languages: Identity, Culture and Entrepreneurship

Here's something interesting...

I am Bashkir by nationality and am well-acquainted with my native language - having been educated at a Bashkir gymnasium, grown up in Bashkortostan, and spoken my native language with some relatives, especially during childhood.

The Bashkir language belongs to the Turkic group, closely related to Tatar. My father is Bashkir, and my mother is Tatar. Consequently, part of my relatives can communicate in Tatar. Tatar is more widespread in Russia and the world. It is very similar to Bashkir, which essentially expands my native language to Bashkir-Tatar.

I've been living in Kazakhstan with my family for a year and a half now. The predominant population here is Kazakh, making Kazakh the national language.

Other Central Asian Turkic languages are broadly similar. Yet, even with my proficient Bashkir, I only partly understand Kazakh, to say nothing of Turkish.

Listening to any Turkic speech other than my native language feels somewhat surreal. Sentence structures, stresses, and intonations are identical, but the words, sounds, and pronunciations vary slightly. It leads to a dual sensation: as though you comprehend everything and nothing simultaneously :)

In essence, Turkic languages form one layer of my linguistic environment. This layer is closest to me by nationality but furthest from practical use. To use a metaphor, it's like a beautiful painting on the wall or an elegant statuette on the table, not the pen or pencil I use constantly.

The second layer forming the basis of my linguistic thinking is the Russian language. Ukrainian and Belarusian languages are close in understanding.

Why Russian and why is it the main one? It's simple. The Republic of Bashkortostan, which was "included" into Russia's composition (or rather, what was its predecessor on these territories) through various means, where I was born and raised, has long been under the dominating influence of the Russian language, culture, and other factors that, seeping into another but culturally and historically weaker self, transform it significantly, up to almost complete dissolution.

I don't share any views that seek to reverse such processes based on past irreversible events, which new political, economic, social, and other life facets of people have since overlaid. Attempting to change the past from the present moment, even if justified, won't succeed without introducing more confusion, discord, and injustice into the present.

What happened, happened. History knows no subjunctive mood. Speculating about how things could have been different is pointless, especially in utopian tones. We need to work with what exists and what represents injustice now, not centuries or even millennia ago. We need to do enough now to avoid being the cause of worse developments in human civilization in the future. The focus should always be on solving current problems with a clear vector toward a desired future.

Thus, the influence of the Russian language in the territories of the post-Soviet space is very strong. Russian language de facto is one of the primary languages for business and everyday communication, not only in Russia but at least in the major cities of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and others. With the Russian aggression, the situation with the Russian language in Ukraine has changed significantly, but overall, this is the picture in these territories.

For example, my significant business activity is happening in Kazakhstan, I am in the capital - in the city of Astana (although in fact, Almaty historically concentrates more business hustle). Here, one can fully get by in communication (at any level: domestic, business) in Russian.

I don't make judgments on this. I merely state a fact. It's challenging for me to assess such things. I'm not Russian, but I am a Russian citizen who absolutely does not support the direction Russia has been heading for years (let alone the war). But the fact remains - my thinking in the linguistic plane is based on Russian.

At home, I like to occasionally insert phrases in Bashkir because speaking it is genuinely pleasant. I like the native language itself; it's beautiful to me. But, it feels like it has long ceased to develop because, in practice, few use it, except for domestic tasks.

Beyond the two described linguistic layers: native Bashkir (and the Turkic language group as a whole) and Russian (and partly the Russian-speaking culture, still influential in post-Soviet countries) - there's a third. Naturally, it's English.

Certainly, the English language in today's context is not just a language. Its value for non-native speakers isn't merely as a language in itself. It has always served as a sort of "window to Europe," or more accurately, a window to the rest of the world.

Returning to the thesis that history knows no subjunctive mood, one could discuss at length and in depth the times of colonization by European states of a significant part of the world, the further spread of American influence, seasoning it all with either capitalism or democracy - donning it with either angelic or demonic masks. All this is important to study, understand, and rethink. But, that's not the point here.

No matter how you spin it, for an ordinary person living in Russia, Central Asian countries, or probably anywhere else where English is not fundamental, English is a tool for cross-cultural interaction, access to high technologies, new business practices, etc. This does not mean that interesting and useful things are not created outside English-speaking countries. It means that no matter where value appears, it will, in any case, be broadcasted to the whole world in English first (well, maybe with a slight delay after the source's native language). This is a given, and we need to work with it.

Besides these three linguistic layers and all the cultural and other contexts they carry, there are a few more vectors: Portuguese and Esperanto.

Why Portuguese? Because it's in my plans, along with my family, to move to live in Portugal (Cascais or Madeira as a goal, but initially something near Lisbon might be an option). At the same time, I still want to build part of my entrepreneurial activity in Kazakhstan. There are several reasons for this, which I might share later.

I'm not studying Portuguese separately right now. When I'm there, primarily for domestic and possibly cultural integration, it'll become necessary.

Why Esperanto? From a naive and utopian standpoint, Esperanto emerges as the leading candidate for an international language. It converges numerous sound ideas. For instance, Esperanto virtually lacks native speakers (excluding a few thousand individuals, who, in themselves, represent a fascinating phenomenon—in the best sense of the word). Thus, not being a native language for anyone, Esperanto could become a common language for everyone. This is also facilitated by the ease of learning it (from what I've managed to learn, everything points to this), which makes it more accessible compared to other languages.

From a practical standpoint, Esperanto is beneficial because (this is a hypothesis, but indirectly verified to be accurate): learning it makes it easier to learn other European languages, like Portuguese.

Now, how I view this entire linguistic configuration:

1. There's my native Bashkir language, which I would very much not want to lose touch with entirely. So, I occasionally speak it. It would be good to start reading books in it, even if rarely; there are few, but they exist. Also, the Turkic language group, including Kazakh, resonates quite well with my current place of residence (I'm in the process of obtaining a residence permit here) and further plans for developing part of the business in Kazakhstan.

2. Russian, despite now being associated by many with an aggressor country, is not inherently bad. Naturally, I am fluent in it, i.e., I'm a native speaker. Regardless of my actions, I will continue to think predominantly in it in the coming years. And to create content and communicate with the Russian-speaking audience, wherever it may be scattered across the planet, also needs to be in Russian.

3. The English language is a clear need for me. I can relatively freely understand textual content, but much work is still required with everything else. However, in any case, I will now be creating content and trying to develop relationships with people in English.

4. The idea of mastering Esperanto somehow interestingly combines both idealistic and practical sides for me. It even amuses and fascinates me :) In general, as far as possible, I want to learn it. And one of my wildest dreams is to create content in Esperanto and use it as a foundation. Perhaps even learn to think in it primarily so I can then translate into other languages - whether it be English, Russian, Portuguese, etc.

Why did I devote so much attention to the language issue? Language is not just the basis but an integral part of thinking. Language is also the foundation of communication between people. An entrepreneur's mindset is the most crucial factor affecting business development. And communication with people is a key factor in building an organization and its interaction with the market and the environment as a whole. People are people: entrepreneurs, partners, teams, contractors, suppliers, clients, competitors, and other stakeholders. They use language for thinking and communication.

Language and understanding how I can and will develop in this space of realities and possibilities have a strong lever of influence on my entrepreneurial activity. Hence, I touched on this topic, albeit superficially.