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ENDANGERED LANGUAGE ALLIANCE TORONTO Translation of Interview with Livonian Speaker Grizelda Kristin Video available at: https://archive.org/details/Livonian_Kristin_kundz Recording date: November 12, 2011 Lead Interviewer: Zoe Dirse Interviewer: Dan Kaufman Translator: Linda Zalite The interview was conducted in Latvian and Livonian, with the lead interviewer asking questions in Latvian and the subject responding in both Latvian and Livonian. The Latvian portions have been translated into English as below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Interviewer (I): You know what, Kristins kundz? This is what we are going to do: I will ask you questions in Latvian and you respond in Livonian, OK? Grizelda Kristin (GK): Yes. I: And then if we will need any translation, I will… we can later do that, OK? So, can you tell me your name, where were you born… in what county where you born… and where do you live now? GK: Do you also need to know when I was born? I: Yes, where were you born? (I think the interviewer did not catch that GK was asking whether she needs also to know when GK was born. I do not know if she answered that in Livonian.) GK: I was born in Latvia. I: In Livonian… GK: Oh, Livonian… continues to answer the question in Livonian… So, that is it what I can say about where I was born, how I lived and how things were when I went to school. Our school was 12 kilometers away from our home, and we had some potatoes, bread, meat, butter or cottage cheese for the whole week, and everybody had his or her own little space to keep his or her belongings. And that was all we had for the week. I: In this school… it was Livonian school, right? GK: No, it was not Livonian school; it was Latvian school. Livonian schools did not exist… yes. Translation of Livonian interview 2 I: Yes… were there Livonian schools at all? GK: No, there never were any Livonian schools. Only during Latvia’s independence days the government subsidized one teacher one hour a week in every school. There were three schools by the seaside, the area where Livonians lived, and our teacher traveled from one school to the other by riding his or her horse. There were no books in Livonian… If the teacher could, he communicated only orally if needed… It was only later, maybe in the middle of 1930s, when the first Livonian books appeared. I: Maybe you could say this in Livonian... GK: Yes… continues in Livonian… I: In Livonian, tell a little about your parents... What did they do; what did they do for a living; what kind of people were they? GK: Answers in Livonian… That’s all! Nothing much! I: When did they pass away? GK: What? I: When did your parents die? How old were they when they passed away? GK: Who passed away? I: Your parents. GK: Parents! My parents died when we were already in exile… in the sixties. I: Did your parents always live in the same county? GK: Yes… during the war everybody had to leave the coastal area when the solders came… the army… I: Maybe say that in Livonian... GK: Continues in Livonian… When Russians invaded, they ordered everybody to leave the coastal area, because the solders came to secure the coast so nobody could neither flee nor enter through the sea. And when we were already away, we could not go back to our place where we were born. People had to come to Riga in order to meet us. We could only be within the borders of the city of Riga… So… we could not meet anybody… There were no permits to go to the coastal areas… Only Russian soldiers were allowed… Fishing in the sea was also forbidden. I: What was… What did distinguish Livonians from Latvians? Maybe you could talk about that a little. GK: Responds in Livonian… That’s all! I: Yes, he [Dan Kaufman] also wanted to know, what do you… what would be significant in your opinion to pass down to the next generation – our young people… any ideas, any thoughts… something Translation of Livonian interview 3 significant from your culture… something that might be useful to young people… something that might help them? And do you think whether it is important to keep the language alive? GK: You know, it is very hard to say, because… I: Maybe respond in Livonian… GK: Continues in Livonian… Well, young people are not interested. I: But maybe something from Livonian culture that might be important… well… I don’t know how to say… that… that… What do you think young people… what could they… what could they learn… like our professor Valts in Latvia… Why is it important for him to learn about Livonians – their culture and language? GK: They are only interested in learning the history – what has happened. They don’t care about what might happen… since Livonian nation is an old nation… and since they have lived in Latvia for a long time… and they have been seamen… I: Maybe tell this in Livonian. GK: Yes... continues in Livonian… Yes, they are not interested about old times; some even do not know that their grandfather might be Livonian… Livonians have lived along the seaside and the rivers Daugava and Gauja… They have been great seamen and have navigated through the rivers and the sea… and they have been great captains and helmsmen… They have studied these things, but other things… and now when the older generation have forgotten all these things, but the young people do not care anymore. They try to find their place in the city and eventually Livonian language and people vanish… Young people even do not admit they are Livonians. Only recently, when Finns and Estonians have showed interest about Livonians, things have gotten better. Now they have gotten support from the government, and Livonians are recognized… just like here in Canada where Indians are recognized as native inhabitants. I: Did Livonians live in Latvia before Latvians? GK: What? I: Livonians lived in Latvia before Latvians came? GK: Yes, Livonians were before Latvians. I: Maybe say that in Livonian? GK: Yes… continues in Livonian… I: Do you recall… something from… any Livonian play or poetry, something like that… Maybe you remember something by heart? GK: What? Translation of Livonian interview 4 I: Well… something… something… My God now I am lost in Latvian… well… Do you know any songs? Livonian songs? GK: I did not get that. I: A song! GK: A song? I: Yes. Livonian. GK: Well… I can read something from the book. I: OK, can I take any book? I can bring it! Maybe a poem? Are there any poems in this book, Kristins kundz? GK: What? I: Any poems in this book? GK: What? I: Poems? A poem! GK: No, I will need my glasses. They must be somewhere in the other room. I: Yes, I saw them. GK: Reads a poem in Livonian… This was one… one song… Do you want me to read it in Latvian, too? I: Yes, if you could; if it’s not too hard. GK: They are translated right here. In Latvian: The first verse talks about so many stars that shine brightly in the sky. And while you are sound asleep these stars do not stop to shine so brightly. The second verse compares symbolically one star to Livonian nation, that shines on the sea coast, and it has to shine as long as it has strengths. There are many of them; I have recorded some of them also. I: Yes? GK: Reads poem in Livonian... Then in Latvian: This poem is told from somebody who lives far away from home in a different country. One longs for one’s homeland and how one’s heart aches. In the other country far away there are nice buildings and mountains, but still the place dear to heart is the sea coast with its dunes, where one’s father’s home is. Translation of Livonian interview 5 I: One more? Very beautiful, Kristins kundz! GK: Reads the poem in Livonian… Then in Latvian: This poem is about being proud to be Livonian. I will always be a Liv as long as I live. I inherited language and sea from my father, and I will leave them for my sons, and I will always be a Liv as long as I live. I: Yes, Kristins kundz, do you remember any stories your parents have told? GK: What? I: Do you recall any stories or fairytales your parents told you when you were young? GK: No, I do not remember any stories. Do you want me to read another poem? I: A poem? Yes! GK: Reads poem in Livonian... Then in Latvian: I sing about the sea that shines in sunlight. I feel my ancestors’ blood running in my veins. I sing about my forefathers, whose lives were long and hard, and I clearly feel your spirit in me. And I sing about my nation’s pride. I: Beautiful… Do you remember something… if Livonians had any traditions… about the sea or… you know… like Latvians’ have St. John’s (or midsummer solstice) Day? GK: Well… midsummer solstice have always been celebrated like Latvians have done it; there is nothing distinct about that. I: Didn’t Livonians have something different? GK: No, there was nothing different on St. John’s. I: Maybe something about the sea, was there anything? GK: No, I don’t know anything that might have been so distinctly different.
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