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EESTI ELU reedel, 19. veebruaril 2021 — Friday, February 19, 2021
Nr. 7
Growing deep roots; growing Seedrioru’s future! The Covid-19 virus has wreaked havoc and has reached all corners of our world, but with every catas trophe, there is always a silver lining! For Seedrioru, it has given our new Board the opportunity to press the “RESTART” but ton: first to honour our rich past as a laager and as a community. Our Heartfelt Thanks
Map from jakubmarian.com
Language Lounge: What fuels Estonian multilingual abilities? Vincent Teetsov On a map created by Czech data scientist Jakub Marian, the average number of languages spoken by citizens of countries across the EU is shown. The highest numbers shown include Luxembourg (3.6 languages), the Nether lands (3.2), and Slovenia (3.0). Slightly lower down, but among the higher averages, are all three Baltic countries. According to the map, the average Estonian speaks 2.7 languages. Using the same data, from the Eurobarometer 386 survey of 2012, the median number of languages spoken by the typical Estonian is two and a half. The survey data sourced to make this map was based on participants self-reporting their language abilities instead of more precise testing. So, some individuals may have down played their linguistic abilities while others may have been boasting. These variables aside, however, the map is a provo cative conversation starter. In comparison, most statisti cal data in Canada centres around the distribution of bilin gualism in French and English. According to the last Canadian census, from 2016, 17.9 percent of the population is bilingual. Most of the population (75.4 percent) speaks English as their first official language and 22.8 percent speak French as their first official language. It goes without saying that the ability to speak languages beyond English and French abounds in Canada. If a similar Eurobaro meter-style survey was done in Canada, I would predict the average number of languages spoken by Canadians to be around 1.8, due to languages spoken at home with family and immersion school programs. The factors that create a multi lingual populace vary, though. Languages can be tools we take for granted, springing from one’s cultural background and peers, as in the case of speaking Estonian at home or at community events. Hearing a combination of languages may
result in variants like “Estong lish”, thought it wouldn’t be re garded as a separate language. Fragments of a language may enter our minds with less planning when we travel some where new and need to commu nicate for survival. For example, if you learn Greek to order meals when on a vacation. People seek to learn languages deliberately for social reasons, like getting closer to your sig nificant others’ family members. Professional reasons are a form of language fuel, too. In Canada, think about how many job board postings a new gra duate will come across that show favour to applicants with French-English bilingual abili ties. If you didn’t realize you would need that skill before, it could impede the advancement of your career. Likewise, cobb ling together phrases for a business meeting can leverage better business negotiations abroad. These kinds of skills enable us to build rapport with customers and clients, but it’s really not easy to gain them the fuller your plate gets as you grow older. It’s no wonder some kids are given headphones to listen to audio language courses as toddlers. As we get older, speaking other languages becomes a badge of pride for how clever or productive you are. This comes back to educa tional systems’ admiration for memorization. If you memo rized it, you must have put in the sweat equity to keep it there and your brain must be well organized. Speaking to relatives and friends in Estonia, there is a casual demeanour surrounding the ability to speak Estonian, Russian, and English. It’s like the language “starter pack.” On top of that, they may have learned a fair bit of Latvian when on a road trip, a bit of Finnish after that camping trip one summer, or German from high school. I wonder if Esto nians all agreed to be modest for language surveys and under state their skills... Beyond tests like the Com mon European Framework of Reference for Languages
We want to publicly thank all of our volunteers, both past and present who have put in many hours quietly working away and always leaving Seedrioru better than they have found it. It warms our hearts to see all of the people that come out EVERY year; young and old working side by side to keep the property in good working order. For laager we continue to have a bevy of dedicated volun teers who come back year after year to infuse Eestlus into every kind of activity so that our future generations are able to learn about and appreciate our extremely rich and vibrant culture. For all of the staff who have come (Directors of the Board included) we are so grateful for your time, your guidance in creating such memorable weeks of camp for all of the campers. I for one, have many vivid memories of all of the fun times spent every summer as I would attend for every week offered, and would cry all the way home sad for all of the fun to endand start counting down for next year! And I know that I am not the only camper (past and present) that feels this way! We thank our 4 societies;
(CEFR) exam, the gauge of fluency is wishy washy. Our perception of what “acquiring” a language looks like has changed, and that can have an influence on survey results. 30 years ago, it would be easy to use the label of Estonia as a crossroads to explain the country’s multilingualism. Slo venia could also be used to push this idea, being between Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Italy. Luxembourg is bordered by Belgium, France, and Ger many. Scrutinizing the highest numbers on Jakub Marian’s map, I wish Switzerland were added (even though it’s not part of the EU), to see how German, French, Italian, and Romansh would rack up their average. The ubiquitous nature of English as an international lan guage of commerce and tourism likely reduces the multilingual abilities of a country like Esto nia, because it makes it easier to speak with the whole world than with any other language. There are less opportunities to speak and practice other lan guages. However, Estonia’s geographical position is only (Continued on page 17)
namely Kitchener Estonian So ciety, Hamilton Estonian So ciety, London Estonian Society and the St. Catharines Estonian Society for their continued sup port supplying wonderful meals for work weekends or in-kind donations – we couldn’t survive without your support! We also want to extend our thanks to the Estonian Foun dation for their years of generosity. They have been the greatest source of our camps programming offering financial support for years – but we need your help so that they can con tinue to support us. Please visit estonianfoundation.ca and direct your donation to Seedrioru.
planning not only of this year’s laager, but to set a 5 year plan in motion so that we are con sciously planning and re-eva luating each year to ensure that we are on target for our goals. Staffing camp: Day Camp or Overnight camp? We are actively recruiting for counsellors who speak Estonian with working fluency, enjoy working with children aged 4-15 and who will make every effort to expand their know ledge of the Estonian Language and further their understanding of their unique Estonian culture.
Laager
Please send your resume by March 31 to Karen Must Board camp co-ordinator to seedrioru@ seedrioru.com Need more information: no problem! Email Karen at kamustie@gmail.com As for day camp or over night camp – STAY TUNED! That will be dictated by the spread of Covid-19 – the Pro vince, and specifically by Wellington Centre Public Health Department. We are busy planning for both sce narios!
So this pandemic pause has given us the opportunity to review laageri operations speci fically: • our laagri mission statement • job descriptions • hiring practices and subse quent training for incoming staff • review of staff handbook • review of safety standards and practices for laager • review and prioritize upcom ing projects to enhance pro gramming Parent Involvement A parent survey went out the first week of January 2021 to all of our past and present families and closed Jan 29. We have formed a Parent committee consisting of a cross-section of parents from a variety of cities (Kitchener, Burlington, Grims by, Toronto, Hamilton-Dundas) and are meeting to discuss the results of the survey and in volve them proactively in the
Meet the new MES President
Come and grow Eestlus with us!
Tentatively camp will run from July 5–29, 2021 Stay tuned for monthly up dates of exciting projects and tegevused being added to the laagri experience!!!! Karen Must (writer) and Team Seedrioru’s Board of Directors): Lia Hess Helle TormNewland, Rutti Yalle, Ken Ahlberg, Toomas Aasa, Rein Pertens, Madis Tambre ja Karen Must
Grete for the job. Her high energy, super organizational skills and network of contacts among younger Estos in Mont Grete Mugu was born in Tõrva real bring a new vitality to the in southern Eesti. At the age of MES. 19 she moved to Germany in It has been a challenging order to learn German, met first year for the new president. future husband Nick, and to Despite this year’s pause due to gether they landed in Montreal Covid-19, Grete has still chaired in 2010. One of the first things numerous online executive Grete did on arrival was to meetings and overseen the up search for local fellow Esto keep of Lättemäe. She is look nians. This brought her to the ing forward to the time when MES website and her introduc the MES can resume its activi tion to the Montreal Estonian ties. Her goal, she says, is to community. She quickly be bring together multiple genera came involved in our activities, tions of Estonians and their and soon after became a friends, both in Montreal and at member of the executive. Lättemäe. MES A competitive runner in her teenage years, these days Grete is a busy mom to Henry, 7, and Logan, 9. In the little spare time she has, Grete loves to do the Estonian crosswords that her mother sends her from Eesti. Her entire family likes spending time at Lättemäe and on week ends you can often find them there. When the position of MES president became vacant at the end of 2019, the executive was unanimous in its support of
