Estonians need a lesson too, claims think tank

  • 2007-09-12
  • By Joel Alas

Aaviksoo said Estonians need to be more welcoming to outsiders.

TALLINN - Estonians should be taught to be less hostile and more sympathetic to people learning their language, according to the chief architect of the nation's new integration program.
A week after Russian-speaking 10th grade children began a new set of Estonian-language literature classes, Ain Aaviksoo from the Praxis Centre for Policy Studies suggested Estonians should also be given classes in how to be more embracing of new speakers.
Aaviksoo spoke on Sept. 7 at a conference in Tallinn where representatives of minority groups gave feedback on the government's integration program for 2008-13. The integration program gained new impetus after the events of the Bronze Soldier riots, which created a new rift between Estonians and Russian-speaking residents.

Aaviksoo, whose think-tank has been hired by the government to help formulate the policy, said Estonia should drop its defensive attitude toward its language, which is often perceived as a hostile barrier to those seeking to learn it. Instead, Aaviksoo said a more positive promotion of the language and a kinder attitude to new speakers would improve the situation.
"There are things we can't change about history and our past issues, but we can change our attitudes toward our compatriots," Aaviksoo said.
"Our constitution says that one reason for the existence of the state is to preserve our language and culture. The problem is how to interpret that. If you adopt a protective approach, then in a way you create enemies of every outsider."
Instead, Aaviksoo said the language could only survive if others are positively encouraged to learn it.

"You can't be hostile to outsiders, you have to be capable of embracing them. Many people who speak English know that English is spoken in different ways, so it is possible to understand someone who can't speak it fluently. In Estonia it isn't so. Many Russians tell me that they feel more comfortable speaking Russian because too much attention is placed on them because they speak Estonian differently."
The new integration program was criticized at the Sept. 7 conference for focusing too heavily on language issues.
Liidia Kolvart, representative of the minorities advocacy group Luura, said the integration program failed to define what kind of society Estonia wanted to become.
"The only priority of this program and previous programs is studying Estonian," Kolvart said. "Language is only a means of communication to understand the standpoints of various cultures. Language is the means, not the end."

She said the 2008 - 13 integration program, which is currently in formation, appeared no different from previous programs, which also placed full priority on assimilating all residents to become Estonian speakers.
"The biggest problem is there is no definition of what our multicultural society should be. Without this, the two parts of the society cannot meet."
The conference, entitled "Integration in Estonian Society 2008 - 13," drew together representatives from the government, minority groups and academics to debate the key points of the integration program.
The meeting became heated at times as delegates spoke passionately about their objections to the program, which bases nearly all its objectives on the requirement of non-ethnic Estonians to learn the language.
Once created, the integration program will be used as a guideline for government departments and other institutions, and will set a raft of objectives to be met by 2013.