Language and Culture

03.13.2010

I substituted today at Lithuanian school for the adult learning class and we had a very interesting discussion about language and culture. Most of the adults have some connection to Lithuania and some of them grew up with Lithuanian parents who made them go to Lithuanian school on Saturdays but at some point or another they (as kids) didn’t want to go anymore and quit. Now, years later, they regret it and are trying to instill this Saturday routine with their own children. But, what they lament is the loss of the language and not being able to parlay it to their kids.

Growing up in a Lithuanian household in the U.S. was no easy feat, I have to admit. Not only did I have a different name that provided endless hours of fun and creative name-calling for my classmates, but, I spoke a different language. And in public! I remember desperately wanting to have an “American” name and wanting to just blend in. But somewhere right after third grade, and what seemed like months of being called “vagina”, I learned to appreciate and love my name.

Going to Saturday school, though, was never a favorite. And having done that for so many years, I still feel the (American) cultural repercussions of that especially when friends talk about all the Saturday morning cartoons they watched and how funny and great many of them were. I have no idea what they’re talking about and, occasionally, I feel a tinge of jealousy because I can't relate, but I quickly get over it. The gift that was bestowed to me by having this Saturday routine was learning a language, songs, and dance that I wouldn’t trade for any cartoon episode. I also developed friendships with people with whom I’m still friends. I wouldn’t trade that either.

The difference between many Lithuanians and me is that I don’t necessarily call myself “Lithuanian”. First of all, if I did, I’d be denying my Italian and Bulgarian roots. So, in that sense it’s practical. But, more or less, I come from the standpoint that I was born and raised in the U.S. This is my home, I grew up here, I attended school here, etc. I am an American. I am an American who happens to know another language. And it is this gift that I would want to pass along to any children that I may have.

I think Americans do themselves a disservice by insisting that only English be spoken and taught in our schools. Yes, I agree that everyone should know the language. If I moved to Mexico, I would be expected to speak Spanish. The same would go for France or Italy if I moved there. So I think those who move to the U.S. for whatever reasons should learn English. But having said that, I think that we should be teaching other languages in our schools starting at the Kindergarten level.

When you learn another language, it broadens your horizons and understanding of the world. In many ways, I think, it elevates your way of thinking. It helps you understand that particular culture and helps to understand that people in that culture may speak a different language, may dress differently, or live in different types of homes, but they want the same basic things in life that you want. Their literature and poetry will carry the same themes, their music the same concepts, and their daily lives will surface as not that different from yours. When you understand something, it brings clarity to situations and I hate being part of a country that is so narrow-minded and carries herself with such arrogance. Children all over the world learn a second language by the time they’re in second grade and we don’t introduce it by high school. In my opinion, that is the worst age to introduce a foreign language. If anything, kids want to look cool and impress their peers and it’s not through education that they’re necessarily seeking to do these things. And, at that age, because there's no connection to it, a foreign language just seems stupid.

I know my child/ren will have the same issues I had growing up. Hell, I might experience some resistance from immediate family and friends (I know Rob and I had a very unpleasant discussion early on about me speaking Lithuanian to our children but he embraces it today having started to learn the language himself). And such beliefs are going to put even more work on my shoulders to make sure that the rules are followed. And this sentiment scares me because I’m already freaking out about all the responsibilities I will have as a mother. But this is a conviction I have and, I think, because I went through all the trials and tribulations myself, it won’t be a surprise when my kid(s) resist and so, I imagine that, I’ll be able to handle it accordingly. If anything, I come from a very long line of stubborn women…and, well, if nothing else, my stubbornness to succeed in the language department will prevail. Of that I’m sure.

Unless I have an equally stubborn child. Then I’ll, uh, have my work cut out for me.