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OK, in Latvia, do not speak Russian
Language is a funny thing: When you say something wrong, even in a foreign tongue, you don't have to be told you made a mistake. The reaction says it all.It comes in the form of a stony face, a pause, and an answer that in itself is a correction.
At least that's what I was thinking about today. I'm writing this from Latvia, a country that has its own language – Latvian – and a de facto language, Russian, that was the lingua franca here throughout decades of communism.
Unfortunately, I don't know a word of Latvian. Instead, approaching a shopkeeper a little while ago, I spoke to her in Russian. Zd`rravstvuite, I said, using the basic hello in Russian, and proceeded to ask her how much a scarf cost (it's **bleeping** cold here!). I speak enough Russian to ask the very basics: how much, where to, what is good.
But I awakened her ire with my Russian greeting. She returned it with something I didn't understand, and proceeded to answer all my questions decidedly not in Russian.
It was a reminder that this is one of the fiercest battling grounds in the former Soviet Bloc for the sustainability of the Russian language.
Sure, you've got the countries that were members of the Warsaw Pact, places like the Czech Republic and Poland, who maintained their own language traditions. But the countries that were actually part of greater Russia during communist times spoke their own language merely as dialect, which bowed to the hegemony of Mother Russia's tongue.
Now, Russia is complaining that its language is under fire in countries like Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Russia is making it a human right's case: There is a sizable ethnic Russian majority spread throughout the Baltics, particularly in Latvia.
When Latvia achieved independence in the 1990s it quickly began to marginalize the ethnic Russian population that had settled here, giving citizenship to anyone who would claim purely Latvia ethnicity. Yet scores of Russians settled here during the Cold War era and gave birth to children here. Latvia's position has eased in recent years, but it still will not grant citizenship (not an insignificant thing, given its EU membership) to you unless you can demonstrate a mastery of Latvian history and the Latvian language.
This has incensed Latvia's ethnic Russian population, which stands at around 30 percent of the population. Latvians haven't helped things: the government has moved to close ethnic Russian schools and for those that remain open the government has made it mandatory that classes are taught more than half of the time in Latvian.
Is there much of a difference between the two languages? Most Latvians, certainly of a specific age, understand Russians fluently, and a lot of ethnic-Russians living here understand Latvian, if only generally. I have a good background in Slavic languages and I can pick out understanding in both. [Update: Many readers have kindly corrected the erroneous assertion implied in this sentence, specifically that Latvian is a Slavic language. It is not. Still, despite it belonging to another linguistic family, I can still pull out the occasional word (especially spoken numbers) because they sound similar to the Slavic languages I am more familiar with.]
But it's an illustration of what language means, even in today's European Union, where you sometimes have to lay claim to a certain background or experience if it means your national identity.
Thinking about this, it certainly explains the cold reception I received, and serves as a reminder that in today's Latvia, there might be a better way to say hello (Sveiki).
Sure, you've got the countries that were members of the Warsaw Pact, places like the Czech Republic and Poland, who maintained their own language traditions. But the countries that were actually part of greater Russia during communist times spoke their own language merely as dialect, which bowed to the hegemony of Mother Russia's tongue.
Now, Russia is complaining that its language is under fire in countries like Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Russia is making it a human right's case: There is a sizable ethnic Russian majority spread throughout the Baltics, particularly in Latvia.
When Latvia achieved independence in the 1990s it quickly began to marginalize the ethnic Russian population that had settled here, giving citizenship to anyone who would claim purely Latvia ethnicity. Yet scores of Russians settled here during the Cold War era and gave birth to children here. Latvia's position has eased in recent years, but it still will not grant citizenship (not an insignificant thing, given its EU membership) to you unless you can demonstrate a mastery of Latvian history and the Latvian language.
This has incensed Latvia's ethnic Russian population, which stands at around 30 percent of the population. Latvians haven't helped things: the government has moved to close ethnic Russian schools and for those that remain open the government has made it mandatory that classes are taught more than half of the time in Latvian.
Is there much of a difference between the two languages? Most Latvians, certainly of a specific age, understand Russians fluently, and a lot of ethnic-Russians living here understand Latvian, if only generally. I have a good background in Slavic languages and I can pick out understanding in both. [Update: Many readers have kindly corrected the erroneous assertion implied in this sentence, specifically that Latvian is a Slavic language. It is not. Still, despite it belonging to another linguistic family, I can still pull out the occasional word (especially spoken numbers) because they sound similar to the Slavic languages I am more familiar with.]
But it's an illustration of what language means, even in today's European Union, where you sometimes have to lay claim to a certain background or experience if it means your national identity.
Thinking about this, it certainly explains the cold reception I received, and serves as a reminder that in today's Latvia, there might be a better way to say hello (Sveiki).
Filed under: Latvia
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
online Mar 4th 2009 8:40PM
To the author: if you speak russian well you probably know some things about russian culture (or it's lack) as well. Russians are probably the biggest nationalists in the world, they always make joke about other nations, feel superior to the whole world and say the world should learn their language. Wherever they go - they expect to be understood in russian.
Forget russian when you go to Baltics - it's not welcomed there, anything but russian, they suffered enough from them.
Jeff White Mar 7th 2009 10:11AM
Well, as I state pretty clearly in the article, I do not speak Russian well at all. We're talking phrase book basics at best, with a few slang sentences thrown in thanks largely to hearing Russian friends speak. "Where is the bathroom," that sort of thing...
Juris Lapins Mar 4th 2009 11:56PM
"Is there much of a difference between the two languages? No. Latvians understand Russians fluently"
I don't agree. I speak Latvian but don't speak Russian. I don't see any similarity between the languages. I live in Latvia.
kitty Feb 1st 2013 5:39PM
hello, my grandma back in the 1800 was born in latvia she came to the us in the 1800s what language is latvian? what does it sound like?
Kevin Gold Mar 5th 2009 12:24AM
It never sounds the same when you are from there. Thats like Portuguese saying Spanish is the same
Kriss Nov 28th 2010 11:26PM
Ok.. I can easily tell the difference between portuguese and spanish.
I am latvian american.
If one knows what Russian sounds like, they will be able to tell that Russian is not Latvian. Also, I don't speak portuguese or spanish, but i can tell the difference in sound.
Pēteris Cedriņš Mar 5th 2009 2:20AM
Your post is riddled with serious errors.
"When Latvia achieved independence in the 1990s it quickly began to marginalize the ethnic Russian population that had settled here, giving citizenship to anyone who would claim purely Latvia ethnicity..."
Citizenship was not and is not based on ethnicity. Those ethnic Russians who held Latvian citizenship prior to the occupation and their descendants received citizenship without the need for naturalization or Latvian language skills. Others have to naturalize, and well over 100 thousand people have done so. There are even some ethnic Latvians who do not have citizenship -- ethnicity is immaterial to the process, and the naturalization reuirements are comparatively liberal.
"Is there much of a difference between the two languages? No. Latvians understand Russians fluently, and certainly ethnic-Russians living here understand Latvian. I have a good background in Slavic languages..."
Latvian is a Baltic language, not a Slavic language. If the difference were so slight, Russophone non-citizens would have no difficulty learning Latvian and naturalizing, no? There are many Russians living here who don't speak the language, and the percentage of Latvians fluent in Russian is in decline. When independence was restored, only about one in five non-Latvians could speak Latvian. More than half can now. That's a sign of the language policies' success, not an indication that "Latvians haven't helped things." Even now, however, the linguistic environment is far from ideal -- some nurses were recently fined for their lack of Latvian language skills, for instance. Latvians have the right to expect service in Latvian in Latvia, especially in institutions like hospitals or police stations.
The education reform does indeed call for an increased percentage of classes to be taught in Latvian -- but there are several different tracks in the system, some of which provide for plenty of instruction in Russian in minority schools (and Latvia also provides state supported education for the Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Roma minorities). Most Russian schools aren't actually "ethnic Russian schools" but relics of the Soviet era. It is quite natural that some would be closed -- not a few Russophones prefer to educate their children in the Latvian language. Latvia has very high inter-ethnic marriage rates, and the vast majority of mixed Russian-Latvian couples choose to send their children to Latvian-language schools, for example.
One of the primary purposes of our language policies was to reverse the asymmetrical bilingualism that was forced upon Latvia by the Soviets and was leading to the death of the language. If most everyone can speak Russian but most Russophones do not use Latvian -- and they made up a majority in most urban areas by the time independence was restored -- language death is imminent. Fortunately, the policies you say aren't helpful have been largely effective, and most younger Russophones are now fluent in Latvian.
http://lettonica.blogspot.com/
Dmitrij Sep 14th 2010 2:33PM
Hey, hey hey! I was born in 1988 in Latvian SSR. My parents were born in Latvian SSR in 1950's. I speak fluently in 4 languages. I did choose to go through naturalisation just to get EU citizenship and move to the UK. You are having a laugh, all Latvian-latvians have been born in the Latvian SSR as well. There are just a couple of *really* old people who had Latvian citizenship of the pre-USSR era. Anyone back to the topic - latvian languages + history was a piece of cake. What I don't understand is my ministry of internal defence was checking my record for almost 9 months? (I've started the process in December 2005 (exams, test etc) and then received my passport on 31st of August 2006......)
In the current job market many latvians of my age do not speak Russian and Latvian fluently. All the russians from russian schools in latvia do speak both languages. In the end of the day languages open doors and job opportunities. Don't blame latvians for not knowing a language spoken by ~285 million people, the government has chosen such policy instead of caring more about country's economy.
The funniest thing though is that Latvia sold itself in a form of morgages supplied by Swedish banks - both morgage to financing building the houses and morgages for people to buy those houses. Altogether it is a loss-loss situation for Latvia, since citizens will be financing Swebank, SEB, Nordea etc for the next 50 years or so....
There is sufficient amount of people who speak more than 2 languages to support dialogue across the whole population...... Unfortunately there are still significant amount of people on both sides who old-fashionate and somehow believe that the other nationality is lazy, wasn't born here, didn't vote for independance and is too dumb to learn the other language...... ABSURD!!!!
I don't care. I'd rather go on and live a happy life elsewhere. Fortunatly, I sometimes meet people from Slovakia, East Germany, etc. who do understand what it is like to be always either immigrant or 1st generation immigrant. I do know that I've been European at least for the past 5 generations.
Martin Mar 5th 2009 3:22AM
to the ignorant author:
I basically agree with what Mr Cedrins says about Latvia and I more or less support Latvian naturalisation policies. However, I just wanted to add a comment about Estonia - although you don't say so explicitly, I assume that you throw the Estonians in the same "Baltic pot" as well. Just for your education, Estonian language isn't a Slavic language, it's not a Baltic language, heck, it's not even an Indo-European language (as, for example, English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, etc.) are. It's a Finno-Ugric language, an entirely different language branch and I'd be pressed to find a person who thinks Finno-Ugric languages bear similarity to Russian...
Laura Mar 5th 2009 3:51AM
I would like to express my opinion about all this...
First of all, Russian is a Slavic language while Latvian - one of the two remaining (along with Lithuanian) Baltic languages. LATVIAN IS NOT A SLAVIC LANGUAGE!!! Therefore I would like to ask you not to put those two languages in the same basket and tell the world that they're the same. They're not... Their structures are pretty similar, some words from Russian has flooded in Latvian (as well as from German!), but the languages are DIFFERENT. And... therefore ->
Secondly, not all Latvians understand Russians and vice versa. Only those that have learned the other language can understand it. I have never been thought Russian at school or anywhere else, but I am forced to hear Russian on TV and hear people talking around me - so I have picked up the basics and understand the gist of it, but not enough to speak fluently and understand everything. In the same way Russians pick up Latvian... however, there is a wast and strong dislike of Latvian language among many Russians (I'm not saying all of them - many know Latvian very well).
Third, which is just a normal thing, the lady at the shop might not understand Russian. I don't think it was hate towards you because of you not speaking Latvian. If she was young, it's most likely she didn't understand you. Young Latvians prefer English and German, or even French at school.
Fourth... I've come into a situation when I am abroad and communicating with someone and once he/she finds out that I'm Latvian, they start speaking Russian as if I was Russian or obliged to know this language. At situations like this I feel sorry that so many people does not know that the language for Latvians is Latvian, not Russian. I don't feel happy, of course,... would you when you're in such a situation? I feel proud of my heritage (which is pure Latvian) and want others to respect that.
Ratima Mar 10th 2009 7:55PM
To Laura...
When people from Holland go abroad people automatically speak English to them. When people from Ireland go abroad people automatically speak English to them... this not the native language of either country. Many many examples. Latvians go to Ireland and speak English and expect Irish-speaking people to speak to them in English - nobody asks them to speak Irish. Some Latvians go to Barcelona and speak Spanish, they don't speak Catalan with the locals... Do you somehow think this is ok, but anyone in Latvia must only speak Latvian? Even those who are fluent in Russian must not use it? Russian is a major world language and will dominate the region in future, accept that fact. I don't see Latvians objecting to use of English, strange that...? This is pure racism!
Brian Barker Mar 5th 2009 10:29AM
Although International Mother Language Day is now over, you may be interested in the contribution, made by the World Esperanto Association, to UNESCO's campaign for the protection of endangered languages.
The following declaration was made in favour of Esperanto, by UNESCO at its Paris HQ in December 2008. http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38420&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html
The commitment to the campaign to save endangered languages was made, by the World Esperanto Association at the United Nations' Geneva HQ in September.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7vD9kChBA&feature=related or http://www.lernu.net
I hope that you do not mind me passing on this information.
Maria Mar 6th 2009 8:18AM
I found this article very helpful actually. It seems nothing has changed in Latvia. I am Russian and was living in Latvia, but left in 1996 - never to return as it turned out. I do agree that the author of the article has made some mistakes in stating that the two languages are similar and of Slavic orgin, however, I think he did make quite clear that the hatred of everything Russian still continues. I think if I ever do return to Latvia, I'll stick to English, they'll probably beat me up if I start speaking Russian!
Olga Mar 6th 2009 11:48AM
I totally agree with you, I was born in Latvia and lived there until I was 10 (also left in 1996). I am Russian and I'll never forget how much Latvian was forced on us, when I was in like 4th or 5th grade they started teaching most of my classes in Latvian, which is kind of ridiculous, considering that the Russian kids were not fluent. I am sooooo glad I left that country, lots of discrimination there, Latvians hate Russians, I'm much better off here in NY anyway :)
Maria Mar 6th 2009 8:40PM
I agree. I always thought that if they helped Russians to learn Latvian, not just forced it on us, then everybody would have been happier. The problem with Latvians is that they have a big chip on their shoulder, as most people in the West have no idea about Latvia, usually I have to say, it's where Russia is, but on the left.. I've been living in the UK for the past 13 years and just the thought of going back to Latvia feels me with dread. So I think my next noliday will be somewhere in Europe, like Italy :)
Pēteris Cedriņš Mar 6th 2009 10:41AM
Maria wrote: "...I think he did make quite clear that the hatred of everything Russian still continues..."
Such a blanket statement completely obscures reality. Latvians like a lot of things Russian, from literature (a translation of Turgenev's Накануне was just published, for example) to theater (the venerable Russian Drama Theater in Rīga is being reconstructed, and the Latvian director Alvis Hermanis is well-known here and in Moscow, working among other things with Russian classics) to pelmeni and dubious Russian TV series.
What many Latvians don't like are Russians -- really homines sovietici -- who cannot or do not speak the national language and feel they retain a conquerors' right to force Russian upon us, and those who otherwise disrespect the culture of the country they live in.
Maria Mar 9th 2009 5:03PM
When I left Latvia in 1996, the passports for non-citizens were brown if I'm not mistaken, for citizens they were blue. Can you imagine the humiliation? Might have as well stamped their foreheads with 'Not really a person.' So what do you expect in return - undying gratitude and respect for the country that denies these people some basic human rights. And naturalisation? I mean what am I, a vegetable? I just feel really sorry for all those Russians for whom Latvia is their only home and they can't leave. I always thought that life is too short,and to waste it on a country where the most important thing about you as a human being is whether or not your parents have been conceived in Latvia before September 1939, would be sad. And just one more reason for leaving.
Pēteris Cedriņš Mar 10th 2009 11:49AM
Non-citizen status doesn't indicate that one isn't considered a person -- non-citizens are permanent residents and enjoy most of the rights citizens enjoy, these rights guaranteed by law. There are indeed numerous distinctions between citizens' and non-citizens' rights -- the civil service is only open to citizens, for example -- the most significant distinction being that non-citizens lack voting rights.
Citizenship entails not only rights but also responsibilities, and few countries grant it to everyone automatically (there are jus solis and jus sanguinis, and mixtures of the two approaches -- children born to non-citizens after Latvia regained its independence do not need to naturalize to obtain citizenship). The UK now has a language requirement for naturalization, too -- so does Russia, in fact. Latvia is committed to human rights and abides by the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.
As Edward Lucas responded to the 2006 Amnesty International report on Estonia in The Economist:
"Estonia, like Latvia next door, decided to give these uninvited guests a free choice. They could go back to Russia. They could stay but adopt Russian citizenship. They could take local citizenship (assuming they were prepared to learn the language). Or they could stay on as non-citizens, able to work but not to vote.
"Put like that, it may sound fair. But initially it prompted howls of protest against 'discrimination', not only from Russia but from Western human-rights bodies. The Estonians didn’t flinch. A 'zero option'—giving citizenship to all comers—would be a disaster, they argued, ending any chance of restoring the Estonian language in public life, and of recreating a strong, confident national identity.
"They were right."
http://tinyurl.com/ddklsj
Non-citizens were *never* citizens of the Republic of Latvia -- they were citizens of the USSR, now defunct. Those who complain that they should hold citizenship because they were "born in Latvia" 1940-1991 either neglect or deny the fact that Latvia was occupied; they were born in occupied territory (and Latvia was occupied in June 1940, not September 1939, by the way).
Vegetables can't be naturalized, Maria -- naturalization requires some personal effort in every country. Compare, for instance, Switzerland's stringent requirements to Latvia's -- but note that the Swiss Confederation wasn't under foreign, totalitarian rule when the applicants got there. Bear in mind that a substantial minority of the population here opposed the very existence of the Republic of Latvia. Some were citizens, like Tatyana Zhdanok -- taking advantage of the democracy she tried to nip in the bud, she became the only ethnic Russian in the European Parliament.
I can sympathize with some of those who were relegated to non-citizen status; I think those who took a risk and registered with the Citizens' Congress should have been granted citizenship because of their clear commitment to independence, for example. I also think that the "windows" for naturalization should have been abolished earlier. I'm quite familiar with the reasons for resentment, some valid, that many Russophones profess. If those resentments are so overwhelming that you consider making any commitment to Latvia a waste, however, I don't think you deserve citizenship through naturalization, which is essentially a form of adoption. A person asking for citizenship should show a degree of integration -- some knowledge of the national language, and some familiarity with the nation's history. To my mind, a familiarity with our history would give you some understanding of why we have the language and citizenship policies we do, even if you don't agree with them, which is your right -- but I see no such understanding in what you write.
Daina Mar 7th 2009 1:42PM
Well, I guess you just have to understand why Latvians aren't too happy when you speak Russian to them. It's not about oppressing the minority. The Russians came into Latvia as conquerors, with the intent of "Russification" = eradicating anything and everything Latvian to be replaced with Russian. Latvians had to struggle to maintain their language and identity during the Soviet years.
So now, when someone tells them that Russian is basically the same thing as Latvian, it's kind of insulting. It's not even the same alphabet! We're proud of our heritage and are lucky it wasn't lost completely during those difficult years.
Is it really so hard to expect people to speak Latvian in Latvia? Every other country in the world has its own national language. That's a basic criteria for citizenship anywhere else.
After a long history of oppression from Russia, there are just going to be some hard feelings, like it or not. And the Russians grumbling about "oppression" right now? I'm sorry, but unless Latvia starts deporting them to the Siberia, it's just not on the same scale.
Glee Mar 10th 2009 4:26AM
It really doesn't matter who hates who and who discriminates who. I've been living in Latvia for a year now (I'm not Larvian or Russian) and even though Latvia is no longer under Russia's communist rule Latvians still promote and sport communistic behavior and they basically continue what Russians have started. Out of 5 different countries I have lived in Latvia was the most unleasent experiance in my entire life and without getting into details I don't wish for any foreiger to live there.
I also don't think that it's a Latvian-Russian thing, it's about treating other human beings in general. I have only encoutered rudness and disrespect here. I guess if the mentality of ALL the people who live in Latvia won't change nothing will.