Estonian jewellery box

Lea Kreinin, the author of the recently published book My Hungary, who has lived in many foreign countries, is reflecting on the preservation of Estonian cultural identity on the basis of her experience. 

Do roots oblige?

Once, while living in Canada, I listened to the one-man show by comedian Andy Valvur, who spoke about his strict Estonian childhood, the Estonian Sunday School and wearing folk costumes. I have heard more or less traumatic stories about the same thing from other Estonians abroad – different clothes, customs, closed events, unwilling and frightened of mixing – being Estonian is a little like a secret society with rules that must be followed at all times. At the time, there was a great fear that the Soviet occupation would destroy Estonia back home and Russify our small nation, so the Estonian cultural identity had to be kept pure and alive abroad at all costs.

It is much easier to be an expat Estonian nowadays. The connection with the homeland is stronger and livelier thanks to various technical possibilities. The Estonian state helps with language and cultural studies. But I think the most important thing is the attitude of Estonians towards themselves and their pride in their homeland. We have a small and good country that has made great progress since the end of the Soviet occupation and stands out everywhere. Just think about how highly we rank in areas like freedom of expression, education, digital development and many more. Estonia is a courageous small country that stands up for Ukraine. Our values are in place. We may smile less and are perhaps not able to communicate freely with everyone at once, but in our simple and straightforward way, we are good and trustworthy companions. We are proud to be Estonians. That’s the most important thing. Be proud of your country. This is the only way to make sure our children are proud of it.

Twenty years ago, the picture was a little different. While living in Finland, Great Britain and Hungary, I also met those Estonians who tried to hide their origins, did not speak Estonian with their children and wanted to integrate into the local society as soon as possible. It was painful to my ears to listen to mothers communicate with their child in poor English. It was especially difficult in England, where such behaviour was considered normal in society. Even school teachers advised parents not to speak Estonian with their children at home. While working at a university in the UK, I still occasionally met English students of Estonian origin who were looking for their roots and wanted to (re)learn Estonian. They spent a lot of resources and worked hard for it, but the results were so and so. If they had received their Estonian skills ‘with mother’s milk’ as children, they would have spared all that.

Jewellery boxes and cultural integration

Before returning to Estonia, I lived in different foreign countries for more than 17 years. At first, my Estonian identity too became like a small beautiful jewellery box with beautiful and valuable jewels inside. This box had to be protected and kept at all costs, no matter if the pearls in this box tended to fade over time. It was only later that I became bolder: I realised that it was okay for Estonian jewels to become part of the jewellery of other countries. Cultural exchanges enrich and also make you more aware of the values of your own culture.

I have been teaching Estonian language and culture at home and abroad for over 25 years. I have started to understand a lot of things that I was unable or unwilling to notice at first. I have already mentioned an Estonian jewellery box. However, when introducing the local language and culture to those coming from abroad, it became increasingly clear that only two-way cultural exchanges can be the basis for any integration. In order to integrate, you also need to know the material into which to embed new ones. When we get to know each other’s cultures, the benefits are multiplied.

Language as a string of pearls

We, Estonians, love and respect our language. It is good and beautiful. In my opinion, however, we often pay too much attention to the grammatical correctness of the language. We should not forget that language is not an end in itself. 

Very often, I have seen both young and old who are ashamed to talk because they ‘make mistakes.’ The perfect, grammatically correct use of language is very beautiful, but in pursuit of it, we sometimes forget that language is first and foremost a means of communication. If you do not speak the language, why do you need the language at all? If you take the earlier metaphor of a jewellery box, then the string of pearls is of no use if it is only kept in the box but not worn. If left unworn, the pearls begin to fade and crumble.

Perhaps it would help to think that we all have our own personal language, which is influenced by other languages. Languages themselves are constantly changing. And if, with our imperfect language skills, we can make ourselves understandable, make someone happy, and enjoy communication ourselves, then the goal is fulfilled. To polish a language, it is necessary to use it constantly, and by doing so, each speaker will soon notice how his or her language skills are thriving. To prevent the string of pearls from fading or crumbling, it is necessary to wear it constantly. The same applies to language.

With a little help from AI

We live in the 21st century. When using and practicing a language, the possibilities of the artificial intelligence can be successfully used. Chat GPT will be an excellent Estonian-language communication partner in the absence of a better one, who will answer your questions and help you with writing if necessary. With AI, you can write a fairy tale, make plans for creative works, or just exchange ideas about the world. Language models are constantly being trained and are improving constantly. Whether everything offered is worth taking at face value is another matter, but artificial intelligence is certainly suitable for language training.

Let's start getting ready

This year we are celebrating the anniversary year of Estonian-language books, the song festival is about to take place, and many wonderful events are lined up in the summer in Estonia. If you cannot attend in person, you can follow everything online. So let us take our Estonian string of pearls out of the box and come together to celebrate everything nice and beautiful that life offers us!

Lea Kreinin is the author of the plain Estonian language book (level A2) entitled Margus, Cat and Apple Jam (2021) and My Hungary: Life is Bell Pepper (Petrone Print 2025) and regularly contributes to the Canadian Estonian newspaper Eesti Elu (Estonian Life). Lea has lived in Finland, Hungary, the United Kingdom and Canada. She has taught and teaches Estonian to new immigrants, students of foreign universities, children and young people of Estonia and abroad. Lea has also provided training on cultural integration and integrated subject and language learning.