The Estonian Government is coming under fire due to their Language Inspectorate and some recent changes in the law. The Language Inspectorate’s job is to make sure everyone working in Estonia can speak a good level of Estonian. The new powers granted to the division mean that they can recommend the dismissal of an employee for low language skills, make them re-sit the national language exam, and take away the right to work of those who fail the exam.
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Comments from Colm:
Was it just my misunderstanding or does Amnesty International stand for the protection of human rights? What could be more important that the right of a sovereign nation to protect and promote their cultural and linguistic wealth in their homeland? Russians have been given the opportunities. They have been in the country for decades and many do not want to learn the Estonian language. They speak Russian in their communities (in Estonia) and go to Russian speaking schools. If the Estonian government gave Russian speakers more rights (in work-place situations for example) they would not have ANY incentive to learn Estonian.
Comments from Eva:
Why is it wrong to preserve one of the oldest languages of Europe? Why is it wrong for this small nation to protect itself and still be able to be an important part of Europe’s multicultural society? Russians have all the chances to learn Estonian - the courses by employers for example, the children learn it in schools etc. All their attempts to learn it are being granted - they get their money for their courses back. Do you think they aren’t been given time? How does 50 years sound? The Russian border is close and it’s no problem for them to go where they will be treated “fairly”.
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And a welcome law or else Estonian could go the way of other languages like Irish and Breton, down the slippy slope to their destruction….*sighs*
Was it just my misunderstanding or does Amnesity International stand for the protection of human rights? What could be more important that the right of a sovereign nation to protect and promote their cultural and linguistic wealth in their homeland? If the Russians don’t like iit ion Estonia they can go back to Russia, it’s only a few kms away and allow the Estonians to live in peace.
It’s such a “great” idea to compare the nations of 281,421,906 (USA,2000 census) and 145,184,000 ( Russia, 2002 census) with Estonian, 1,324,333 (estimate 2006) and the third of which is Russian, and the number of Estonian speakers is just 1 million (and the number decreasing every day).
Why is it wrong to preserve one of the oldest languages of Europe? Why is wrong for this small nation to protect itself and still be able to be an important part of Europes multiculture? Or were you referring to the supreme languages and their power over this world? Is Estonian really that powerful? You can’t talk about multicultural society if you rule out the real minor language and start praising the all-practical languages, such as English. Yah, lets all just speak Russian and English, now that would just be VERY multicultural.
I have to agree with Colm, the Russian border is close and it’s no problem for them to go where they will be treated “fairly”.
I think you have misunderstood my intentions. I have no problem with a country protecting a language and strongly welcome the Estonians doing something to protect theirs. I think more countries should make such an effort when it comes to their language and heritage.
The problem I have is with the approach. To dismiss a person because they don’t speak a language is just not productive. How about language lessons? How about a grace period so the person can learn the language? But the “here’s a test, you failed, go home” approach, does that help to grow and sustain the language?
Your comments seem to indicate I shouldn’t live in Spain and try to learn about their language and culture because I don’t speak the language sufficiently at the moment. But I don’t think that was your intention and we’re all on the same page here?
Yes, I believe we are all on the same page.
My points were more against Amnesity and their constant compaigns against the Estonian government with help from Russia.
Russians have been given the oppurtunites. They have been in the country for decades and many do not want to learn the Estonian language. They speak Russian in their communities (in Estonia) and go to Russian speaking schools. If the Estonian government gave Russian speakers more rights (in work-place situations for example) they would not have ANY incentive to learn Estonian.
Imagine the Spanish government saying to you that you can speak English at work. That would be absurd. These Russians are not tourists or newly-migrated workers. These people have been born on Estonian soil but they refuse to respect the laws of the country they are living in. They still believe the USSR exists and that they are on Russian soil.
So yes, they are given the oppurtunity to learn Estonian and integrate into Estonian society. You want to learn Spanish and respect the Spanish society. The majority of Russians have no respect for Estonia.
I don’t think you’ve even been to Estonia enough to take a word in such subject. Russians have all the chances to learn Estonian - the courses by employers for example, the children learn it in schools etc. All their attempts to learn it are being granted - they get their money for their courses back.
Do you think the aren’t been given time? How does 50 years sound?
correction: they haven’t*
It’s high ignorance to talk about things like that without even talking to a native Estonian to find how things really are.
Yes, you’re correct. I’ve only been to Estonia once and have no idea of the situation there. I am also not a journalist who is paid to research such facts and interview people about everything I write unfortunately.
I am simply a person with a blog about languages that makes comment about what I see in the news. I trust that those sources have a relative idea about what they are talking about, but I realise with the mass media that this is not the case a lot of the time.
Therefore, I apologise for my comments and have added both your comments to the main post. Thank you for your input and sharing it with us. If you have anything more to add I will post that as well.
Estonia has been one of my favourite countries to visit to date. It is a beautiful country and I was very shocked to learn about the atrocities performed by both the Russians and Nazis on the Baltic States in the past. I too want to see the Estonian language and culture survive and allow the country to keep its own individual identity.
BTW, good luck with your blog!