Good afternoon!
I’m okay.
I’m two native speakers.
I share your story today with you,
which resembles the story of tens of thousands of Estonian people.
Azoke who grew up in bilingualism.
I come from a Russian family in Russian.
At two years of age I was given Estonian to kindergarten.
You might imagine I did not miss it during the first three months
neither in Russian nor in Estonian.
My poor nursing staff was afraid of being a deaf man.
But I am silently and patiently a little Stirlitz
I gathered the information, and then I suddenly came to the song.
Estonian.
As an unknown great singer I have decided,
that I must show my talent,
and I came across the song.
Then I did not even think that my life was like this:
I go to school in Estonian, I do a Estonian university,
I will be a bilingual researcher,
and I can assure myself that I was raised as bilingual.
But I must note that we are in Estonia
bilinguals do not have a unified sign.
For this reason, those who are almost bilingual,
they do not consider themselves bilingual.
In addition, there may be beliefs about bilingualism
and even their personal conviction does not allow them to be bilingual.
Today I will try to explain who the bilingual man,
and encounter difficulties and obstacles,
self-definition,
and society views them as such,
and why would I want to live in a world,
in which self-definition is not black and white.
My diploma is a translator.
Even as a master of a master’s degree I learned,
when they were called and offered a job.
Since my biography is that my name is Olga Lojcsenko,
and both Russian and Estonian are my mother tongue,
I was the ideal candidate for paper.
But you might imagine the surprise of the translation office worker,
when I told him in Russian: I can not turn Russian.
And yet I am from a Russian family!
But that is the case, and through this example I wanted to point out,
how when someone decides my identity, what is my identity,
what is my language skills – just by my name and on the fact that,
I’m bilingual.
But the surprise of the translation office is understandable,
since in fact I come from a Russian family in Russian.
My son moved from Russia to 86 in 86,
and my mother, although born and raised in Estonia but a Russian family,
but since my grandfather was a military officer,
My mom did not have to study in school at school.
For this reason, people often get married when they speak Russian in Russian.
I come from a pure Russian family, sometimes why is my speech strange?
This is a very simple explanation.
My sister and I grew up in an Estonian small town,
mostly Estonian language media surrounded us,
ie my classmates and friends were in Estonian.
In everyday life, we used to play more often than we used the Russians.
I have to note whether to give Estonian schooling,
my parents got tired,
because there were some who waved my mama:
Russian children are not good at Estonian schooling because they will not stand up.
Anyway, do not study in your mother tongue?
My dad told my mom too:
if something is wrong with the girls, my mom will be mistaken.
Fortunately, my dad’s concerns were not justified,
because he was a pain in the school:
my classmates were fair to me, they never made a comment to me,
neither negative nor voiced in my language, on my nationality.
I was simply Olga, my name was called Estonian accent.
I was like the others; only my interest was interesting.
Yes, at first it was difficult for me and my sister,
because our parents could not help in the homework,
because they did not speak Estonian.
But over time, we learned to cope with the difficulties,
and finally I helped one girl in Estonian,
my mom’s acquaintance.
Of course, there is still a fear of having a Russian child
Estonian school, in the end will rest his parents,
and then ashamed to speak Russian.
Unfortunately, I have an example.
I was eight years old, the day of fathers was organized at school.
I repost from the joy that my dad finally came to school.
But when I heard that everyone around us spoke only Estonian,
I turned myself to speak Russian.
I tried to get her closer to her.
I am terribly ashamed to behave like this,
but what has happened can not be changed.
When the Russian language came in the sixth grade,
I finally understood how cool I was to know another language,
and I know the language the others want to learn.
Now everyone has turned to me for help:
how to pronounce a word,
to turn something down.
Finally, I understood that many languages are known
no cause for shame, on the contrary: plus options in our lives.
After the school I moved to Tartu,
because I went to the University of Tartu.
In the dormitory, they were relocated to a Russian girl of similar age.
I talked for the first time
with a contemporary man in Russian.
He analyzed my position and stated:
I speak Russian as Estonian, so I’m an Estonian.
This was the first time that I wondered: could I really be an Estonian?
Because when they called Estonian,
I thought, “Good joke, I have a Russian name,
Russian family, I can not be Estonian. “
But my university mate,
great man …
Finally, he became my scientific leader,
for some reason he thought it would be easier for me,
if you mention examples in Russian
beyond the Estonian examples when he taught Latin Grammar.
I felt annoyed and it was wrong to tell her,
that I do not know the Russian grammar,
so “let’s stay in the Estonian”.
A situation has emerged,
that there was not one, not two, but three grammar
at the same time I chew myself up.
Fortunately, the teacher dropped quickly,
yes, good, Olja does not understand,
let’s just explain it.
With these examples I wanted to understand my name
and from the origins of a Russian family, I am sure I speak in Russian,
there is a situation in which they can not
and decides what my language skills are for me.
Conversely, as I speak in Russian, I decide who I am.
My university history is over, but in life this is not always the case.
From the way our environment sees us,
there may be difficulties and obstacles that could have been avoided.
When I graduated from Tartu University, I moved to Tallinn,
I enrolled in the master, I decided to exchange it
I go to Spain; why not pay.
I went to Spain and asked me often:
“Where are you from?” “What is your name?”
Something often looked like Polish, but I do not mind.
But when I told my name and where I came from,
then not to believe,
everyone has a Slavic name, and everyone speaks Russian,
I explained, yes, I came from a Russian family, but I came from Estonia,
I have a Estonian passport, my nationality is Russian, but I am an Estonian,
ie Estonian-Russian.
(Laughter)
Often they did not understand why I did not know
or I call myself Estonian or Russian.
As I can not choose between Estonian and Russian as a mother tongue,
just as I can not choose
between one or another nationality, they mix in me.
I do not have to choose either.
In Anthony D. Smith’s definition of identity is the individual
or group of people compared to a larger group.
Someone may have multiple identities
depending on the position or the person to whom it is linked.
Think about it: at work, colleague, at home mom, brother, sister, friend, girlfriend
and so on.
We are all of us and we take different identities.
I can speak bilingual and at the same time in Estonia.
You may be bilingual, but you are Russian or Estonian,
or Russian or Russian Estonian in Estonia.
Language is not decisive for nationality or identity,
unless the person himself does not want it.
The stereotypes associated with national affiliation can cause,
for somebody why we do not want to talk,
we are afraid or resting in a language.
Not to go far for example,
here is the Lasnamäe district,
or as one of my Estonian friends would call it: Lasagorozek.
Maybe I do not have to raise any crazy things,
which are rumored here:
it means stabbing or depicting people in the picture,
if he does not offer the person with the cig,
or by night, God save to go out into the street,
or no man here speaks.
I also lived here myself, and at first I was afraid of you,
but I walked around the street without worry.
While I was living here, I did not have any discomfort.
I think those who can not speak Russian,
most often they fear they do not understand what they want from them.
You seem to have language limitations with whom we know or can not chat,
whom we want or do not want to chat with,
and with whom we will or will not chat.
This is caused by how we perceive one or the other language;
because of how quickly we draw conclusions based on name or language,
and how fast we make an opinion on each other,
which can lead to bias and hinder chatting.
Nationality stereotypes
or the relationship with individual nationalities
may also be reflected in our future relationships,
and the next generation can inherit that perception.
Especially when someone’s national feeling is personally violated.
If I was wronged, my future children would not take them,
and this does not affect their language skills,
and does not hinder the child being bilingual or not.
Why am I talking about these?
Professor François Grosjean has defined the most important,
to be bilingual anyone with two or more languages
daily and for several purposes.
To name it as bilingual,
you do not need to know the same level in both languages.
Not all bilingual reads or writes incorrectly in both languages,
because bilingualism is not the sum of two monolingual people.
Because we use different languages for different purposes.
I eg. I read Estonian or English better than in Russian.
Writing is even better in English and Estonian.
I repeat: language does not decide on one’s nationality or identity,
if you do not want it.
Knowledge of languages certainly does not change someone’s nationality.
They are called Estonian,
but I would add that I am not just an Estonian but Estonian-Russian.
You do not have to defend people: Estonian, Russian.
If I talk to someone, then I have absolutely no nationality,
or what languages can and at what level.
I see a person, not your nationality or language.
I strongly hope that we will ever live in a country that,
where everyone is acting accordingly.
Thanks.
(Applause)
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