Петиция за признание русского языка

[Paul B. Gallagher]

George Kalbouss wrote:

> I'm not going to be Pollyanish and ignore the reality that some of
> the language policies of the [Baltics] were legislated to "get back"
> at the Russian domination during the Soviet era, but -- let's face it
> -- it is now 20 years since Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have
> regained their independent state status.  From what is being
> discussed in SEELANGS, it seems that the Russian speakers in these
> nations haven't yet learned the languages of their respective realms?
> Am I incorrect in my assumption?  And, if they haven't, why hold
> out?

National pride aside, which is the more useful skill? Speaking a Baltic 
tongue (and for the purposes of this discussion I'm including Estonian) 
will get you contact with a few million people in the immediate area, 
but speaking Russian will get you contact with hundreds of millions 
throughout the FSU and beyond, not to mention the vast literature in 
both arts and sciences.

I'm not advocating for Russians in the Baltic countries to ignore the 
local language, I'm just saying this is an important reason why they do.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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