When English trumps Estonian
Kommentaarid on kirjutatud EWR lugejate poolt. Nende sisu ei pruugi ühtida EWR toimetuse seisukohtadega.
VanemadUuemad
Thanks for sharing, Vello!24 Oct 2009 09:04
Let's have more of this - the little tribulations associated with integrating into a foreign culture.
I sometimes fantasise about moving to Estonia when I retire and, therefore, I'm curious about the experiences of people like yourself.
It seems like there are plenty like yourself out there. Also, some like myself. Eesti Elu seems like a good place to meet.
Kahju küll29 Oct 2009 13:11
Tundub et see ongi hea näide kuidas nii vene keel kui ka inglise keel on parasiitkeeled. Kelmi põhjendusega meelitavad kasutama ja kui ulatad sõrme, teadagi kuhu välja jõuad.
Hieronymous31 Oct 2009 01:29
Banal. Every twenty one year old college student who has lived in Salzburg for a semester discovers that at a certain point their inadequate German is a liability. Yes, when it it is plain that you are merely passing through and you make the effort to say "Guten Tag", the waitress will understand that you are trying to be polite. That you are bot hin transit and also making an effort. Scott Diel, on the other hand, has lived in Estonia for the better part of Estonia for two decades but is still in transit. How should most Estonians know that "Vello" is not a tourist, but is either learning-challenged, or in a sense a scam artist? One with a false persona and the whole nine yards. Instead of making the effort to learn Estonian, he weakens Estonia's small culture, behaves impolitely, and appears to destine himself to remain a foreign body in his adopted homeland forever. Instead of becoming part of his new country, Scott is in limbo. And the fact of the matter is that unfortunately he is behaving like a Russian colonist of old. Scott is right - many Russians nowadays have learned Estonian. Some of these Russians who have learned Estonian harbor nice feelings towards Estonia and others don't, in an era of Putin-fueled revanchism. On the other hand, many Russians do not show the elementary courtesy of learning Estonian, a category Scott seems to also sort of belong to, as an American doing the same thing. Se habla espanol.
Rich31 Oct 2009 05:22
Tere, I am an American now living in Finland and my friend who is an Estonian living in the US sent this to me. It is quite a good article and I can definately relate this to Finnish as well.
Thank you from Helsinki
Kommentaarid sellele artiklile on suletud.