Syndicate: Re -> The Baltic Cyber Corridor

[Eric Kluitenberg <epk@xs4all.nl>]

Dear Syndicalists,

I received an interesting comment to the Baltic Cyber Corridor text from
Ando Keskkulla, head of the E-Media center in Tallinn. I herewith forward
his comment and my reply to the list.

e.

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Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 21:21:11 +0000
From: "Ando Keskk�¸la" <uni@uninet.ee>
To: Eric Kluitenberg <epk@xs4all.nl>


Hi Eric,


some notes:

you have made serious  mistake in your report Baltic Cyber-corridor:


 - (the use of native Baltic languages was
forbidden by Soviet rule)

-native language was never  forbidden by Soviet rule.
there was of course "secret", but very obvious policy of russification,
which was much  larger than  suppression of native language. The main
part of this was to accelerate immigration from russia. Result of this
policy is new district in Tallinn called Lasnam�¤e - most unhuman and
problematic area in Tallinn now. Step by step russian language was
privileged - sientific researches had to be written only in russian etc.
etc. It looks like from the time of Stalin ,but no - very strong effort
was made by our last " soviet covernor", chairman of Est. Communist
Party ( living now of course in Moscow) in the mid of eighties!!!!

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Reply:

Hi Ando,

Many thanks for the comment on the Baltic Cyber Corridor article. I think I
said that the Estonian was forbidden as an 'official' level, meaning for
conducting state-affairs. I recall that Estonian was for private use only.
Thereby language starts to constitute a seperate private sphere, outside of
the official roles played by individuals in society.

It also struck me as remarkable that, after this formerly private language,
suddenly becomes the language for official conduct again, and thus burdened
by official protocolls of behaviour, it implies a striking reversal of
inward and outward definitions of identity.

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I hope this doesn't bore you all to tears..