Cavesa wrote:This is very true, Russian simply cannot be separated from the history yet. It is something the western Europe and northern america underestimate, and one of the reasons of many misunderstandings both on the level of individuals and nations.
Yes, the trauma is still alive. It will be 49 years since the occupation of the Czechoslovakia in less then two weeks. That was a huge trauma, the people still remember it extremely well. The violence, the loss of hope , being left to rot by the rest of the world again, the betrayal of a part of the nation. The trauma was so strong, that even some people, who had been communists before, left the party and all the privileges (your political profile back then was much more important for your quality of life then any personal qualities or hard work). Germany has had one or two more generations since their tragedy, that is a big difference. It takes time to heal.
It is not just that, but the whole 40 years of the tragedy are important. And the language simply was a big symbol and part of it all. And only 27 years since the end of it. I am part of the first generation born after the revolution.
I suspect there are very similar sentiments expressed about English by a number of Native Americans and First Nations people. I've also heard mildly similar sentiments from Deaf people who were forced to attempt to become oral as children/teenagers, though the complexity is different in those cases.