The Language Situation in the Healthcare Sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

In Kazakhstan, three languages namely Kazakh, Russian and English are used in various sociolinguistic domains, and their proficiency differs in each linguistic environment. This study posits the belief that healthcare environment much depends upon a proper language that should be accessible and comprehensible to all doctors and patients, since the absence of effective communication can result in inaccurate diagnosis and incorrect treatment plan. Hence there is a need to study the use of Kazakh, Russian and English languages under various circumstances. The study adopted a mixed method research design, a questionnaire survey, to collect the opinions of the healthcare workers of the entire region; and a semi-structured interview to understand the diversity of points of view about language situations. The sample comprised 700 health workers, who expressed their views on the possible of trilingualism in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and difficulties associated with its implementation. The findings revealed that language assists in the assessment of the relevance of information and accessibility at a very high level; hence, language should be one of the professional competencies of health service workers. Future studies should conduct a more comprehensive study of the linguistic situation in the field of healthcare