Comments on: MazLatvija http://allaboutlatvia.com/article/207/maza-latvija/ Serpentine Percipience Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:29:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Bet On Me http://allaboutlatvia.com/article/207/maza-latvija/comment-page-1/#comment-245 Bet On Me Wed, 14 Sep 2005 16:05:15 +0000 http://allaboutlatvia.com/?p=207#comment-245 I have travelled to Estonia recently. Just to be polite I started every conversation with “Sorry, I don’t speak Estonian. Would you prefer to speak English or Russian?” Guess what language was preferred?<br /> And BTW would you mind to email me some photos of Latvia related licence plates for my collection at pl8s.blogspot.com please? I have travelled to Estonia recently. Just to be polite I started every conversation with “Sorry, I don’t speak Estonian. Would you prefer to speak English or Russian?” Guess what language was preferred?
And BTW would you mind to email me some photos of Latvia related licence plates for my collection at pl8s.blogspot.com please?

]]> By: Henry IX http://allaboutlatvia.com/article/207/maza-latvija/comment-page-1/#comment-201 Henry IX Tue, 02 Aug 2005 09:48:17 +0000 http://allaboutlatvia.com/?p=207#comment-201 My ethnic background is Scottish, but I know neither Gaelic nor Scots. My father’s father grew up speaking Gaelic, but he didn’t pass it on to his children. Keep up your Latvian heritage, language, culture, acquaintances. If you haven’t been loving your son in Latvian, start now. God bless you. My ethnic background is Scottish, but I know neither Gaelic nor Scots. My father’s father grew up speaking Gaelic, but he didn’t pass it on to his children. Keep up your Latvian heritage, language, culture, acquaintances. If you haven’t been loving your son in Latvian, start now. God bless you.

]]> By: Giustino http://allaboutlatvia.com/article/207/maza-latvija/comment-page-1/#comment-200 Giustino Mon, 01 Aug 2005 18:22:05 +0000 http://allaboutlatvia.com/?p=207#comment-200 I have wondered about that too – why Russians that come to the US, Britain, or France become the new nationality.<br /> <br /> I think you are right about looking up or down at cultures. But an interesting thing happened to me twice last week in Estonia – local Russians spoke to me in Estonian.<br /> Flawless Estonian. They could tell I was a foreigner and they laughed that I could speak it too.<br /> <br /> This has never happened before. If you can imagine my shock, just compare it to somebody who has dealt with Russians for twenty years and then speaks with them in their first language. I am sure it is shocking too.<br /> <br /> I think the smaller nations need to emphasize the beauty of their languages. One reason I liked learning Estonian is because it sounds nice, particularly in song, and I wanted to be able to speak in this language of vowels. <br /> <br /> Maybe this can help people get past the idea that these languages are somehow not cosmopolitan enough. I mean I am an English speaker, but I speak to my daughter a lot in Estonian because she knows more Estonian words.<br /> <br /> They are definitely small cultures, but they sure seem tough. I have wondered about that too – why Russians that come to the US, Britain, or France become the new nationality.

I think you are right about looking up or down at cultures. But an interesting thing happened to me twice last week in Estonia – local Russians spoke to me in Estonian.
Flawless Estonian. They could tell I was a foreigner and they laughed that I could speak it too.

This has never happened before. If you can imagine my shock, just compare it to somebody who has dealt with Russians for twenty years and then speaks with them in their first language. I am sure it is shocking too.

I think the smaller nations need to emphasize the beauty of their languages. One reason I liked learning Estonian is because it sounds nice, particularly in song, and I wanted to be able to speak in this language of vowels.

Maybe this can help people get past the idea that these languages are somehow not cosmopolitan enough. I mean I am an English speaker, but I speak to my daughter a lot in Estonian because she knows more Estonian words.

They are definitely small cultures, but they sure seem tough.

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