‘Bilingual’ Education in Occupied Latvia

Mike Derevyanko’s letter to The Times (July 12), describing the success of bilingual education in the Soviet Union, is a masterpiece. It is an outstanding example of what Novosti Press correspondents do best--write propaganda.

There is not a single shred of truth in his letter. The experience of Soviet-style bilingual education in occupied Latvia is a good example and applies to most of the occupied republics.

The official position of Soviet authorities is that Latvian is the native tongue of Latvians living in their republic. However, in historical terms this is depicted as a disappearing phenomenon. Russian has been raised to the status of the “second mother language” or “second native language” (vtoroi rodnoi iazyk), and Latvians are enjoined to learn this “second mother language” as much as possible.

As years pass, the role of Russian is to increase, gradually displacing Latvian. Latvian is presented as a language more important in the past than in the present, a language of local significance, lacking all the glowing attributes of Russian--”the language of revolution,” “a socially necessary language,” “a language with nearly unlimited powers of innovation,” etc.

Soviet spokesmen have been hard put to explain what language will be dominant “in the new historical community of the Soviet people.” Obviously it will not be Esperanto, but emphatically Russian, and only Russian. In dealing with this delicate issue the introduction of the slogan of “bilingualism” seemed to serve the final goal--total “Russification.”

But bilingualism only appears to be a solution on paper. Latvians are asked to learn Russian, whereas Russians residing in Latvia are not urged to learn Latvian. The latest population census Latvia (1979) shows that 58% of Latvians speak Russian, while only 19% of the Russians living in Latvia speak Latvian. In practice, bilingualism means that Latvians are obliged to learn and use Russian in school, at their workplace and in everyday contact with institutions.

Recent school reforms have increased Russian language study by several hours each week. Russian language introduction is now supposed to begin in kindergarten. The language of business communication in factories, stores, institutions and ministries has become Russian. Business correspondence, official document forms, receipt and statement blanks, etc. are almost all in Russian. Meetings at business institutions and ministries are typically held in Russian. Latvian is slowly being pushed out. Street signs and road names in Latvian are being torn down and replaced by bilingual signs.

Approximately two-thirds of the radio and TV programs in Latvia are in Russian. It might be interesting to note that the present chairman of the state TV and radio program committee in Latvia is Ivars Kezbers, the former chairman of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Latvians Abroad, a well-known branch of the KGB.

Scholarly writings--and thus the transmission of scientific information--are mostly in Russian, especially in the physical and technical sciences. Today different rules prevail. Today they are merely translations of textbooks used in Moscow. Locally generated Latvian textbooks are permitted only in rare cases, e.g. for Latvian literature and language study.

To summarize, the official language policy aims at gradually assimilating the Latvians and reducing the Latvian language to the status of a museum piece.

It still remains to be seen what the success of the “second mother language” policies in Latvia will be. Population census figures shows that Latvians are tenaciously holding on to their ages-old native tongue.

MARA SOIKANE-TRAPANE

Glendale