This week's integration study has revealed that educated young Russian speakers who also speak Estonian are the labour market equivalent of hot cakes.The study has shown that those with the best language skills are tertiary educated Russian speakers up to the age of 29 who have Estonian citizenship. Moreover, 70% of all Russian speakers in this age bracket who were surveyed could speak Estonian, compared to the 37% of Estonians in the same age group who had a handle on Russian.
"Young Russian speakers are in a better position," said sociologist and study author Iris Pettai. "Knowing both languages is a significant springboard for them." They make particularly good tellers, she remarked.
"The position of Estonian Russians is continually improving while the position of Estonian speakers grows steadily worse. Skills in several language give you an important head start in a country where Russian speakers make up a third of the population."
How long will it be, do you think, before Estonians stop complaining about Russians not learning their language and start complaining about the fact that they are? It will be ironic if they end up disenfranchising themselves in the name of integration.
3 comments:
Just as predicted at least 10 years ago.
Well hello stranger :) You must be sitting pretty right about now ;-)
I think you'd find interesting discussion on the minority question, one of countless, here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2007/10/stateless.html
Mine are closer to the end
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