Dear Karl,
I have to say your review of the Nordic Scandinavian and Finno-Ugric (Uralic Finnish lamguage base of Finland) was thorough, direct and true.
I have to say that as a West-Germanic, North West-European I look always critical to the Dutch đłđ± , Belgian, Luxemburgian đ±đș, French, English ( đŹđ§ ), and Irish contributions because these are cultural and linguistically closest to mine.
Even though half Polish, I was raised and educated (highschool) with the West Germanic languages Dutch, English and German which also surrounded me.
Slavic was a strange alien language my mom spoke with my Polish grandmother, grandfather, her sister (my American aunt Maryshia), my American cousins (whom were raised in a Polish speaking household with 2 Polish migrant parents - I am a tiny little bit jealous of that to be honest, but not in a negative way, good for my cousins who can communicate with Polish relatives in Poland and Polish speaking diaspora abroad -Polonia-), and my mothers Polish friends from Warsaw and PoznaĆ.
Slavic languages, poetry, culture, Folk music, classical music, literature, intelligentsia (bohemians, writers, poets, lyrical musicians, artists, professors, scientists, journalists, theatrical playwrights and actors and actresses, ideologues, philosophers, sociologists, academics, Union activists -skilled educated workers-, politicians, activists and independent thinkers), Fine Art, Pop music, peoples, religious traditions and spirituality are interesting, fascinating, inspiring and close in some sense, but also distant in another way, because I grew up, was raised and live and work in a West Germanic, very North Western culture, being surrounded by tall, blond, blue eyed Dutchmen, Germans and Flemish people (Belgians) and a lot of non-Western, non-Slavic people (Turks, Turkish Kurds, Moroccans -Berbers and Arabs-, Caribbeanâs, Somalians, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Syrians, Afghan people, Iraqi and Syrian Kurds, Africans, Asians and others).
Slavic people are not recognizable for me in the street because they are white Native Europeans. They often are blond with blue eyes, Brunettes or Redheads or people with black hair.
Often in the Netherlands we canât see the difference between Christian Slavic and Jewish Slavic people who are over here from Central- and Eastern-Europe. You have quite a few Russian-, Ukrainian-, Polish-, Belarussian-, Lithuanian-, Romanian- and Hungarian Ashkenazi Jews over here. Often academics, Central- and Eastern-European Intelligentsia people. They are exotic with their dark looks and quite different than the Dutch and German Silver Jews (Blond and Blue Eyed North West European Jews).
The same exotic or orientalist experience we sometimes have with Christian Slavic people. Slavic accent in German and Dutch, strong connection with their family, friends, former colleagues, culture, history, soil, religion (Roman Catholicism, Greek Catholicism or Christian Orthodoxy), strong family ties (more than in the individualist West, where family often is a far distance affair, people are rather self centered and materialistic), old fashionate habits and sometimes distant behavior, because of their insecurity about language and sometimes difficult communication.
You have an ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, political, financial-economical and human barrier between Western-Europe on one side and the Slavic/Hungarian/Romanian/Baltic Central- and Eastern-Europe. Secular vs religious, Progressive vs Traditional, Liberal vs Conservative, individualism vs family oriented corporatism or communitarianism, secular (atheist) humanism vs Christian humanism.
In both Western Europe on one side and Central- and Eastern-Europe Socialism has played a role and created certain materialistic, secular atheist, scientific, social and cultural facts on the ground. For instance in the architecture of the 20th century, the infrastructure, the economy, social security, health care and the mentality of people. In Western Europe British Labour, the French Parti Socialiste and the Parti communiste français, and the dominant role the Socialist and Communist Unions played for decades, the Social Democratic Scandinavian Nordic model, the role of Social Democratic chancellors in Germany (Brandt, Schmitt, Schöder and today Olaf Scholz), and the Belgian and Dutch Social Democrats as well, the Purple coalitions (
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_coalition ).
This secular, progressive, atheist, secular Humanist, leftist culture dominated in Western Europe at the universities, artistic circles, music scenes, primary schools, highschools, vocational universities, universities, schools of economics and schools of journalism. Very different than the dogmatic East-Block Dutch doctrinaire Marxism-Leninism of the Peoples Republics of Central- and Eastern-Europe. But in Western-Europe you had the Democratic socialist, parliamentary and activist forms of socialism and class struggle and the working class hero in music, cinema, education and politics.
This is very present in Eurovision in which a corporate music company and Commercial Voice of Holland and the Voice of Poland have a great influence. Eurovision passes borders of class, social milieu and heritage. But fact is that there is a pressure of Eurovision history and taste. In time less countries used their original languages, because difficult or âweirdâ, âalienâ languages donât work in this time of âinstant accessâ, âa short attention spanâ, âsocial media addictionâ, âvery bad educationâ, âlack of historical awareness and knowledgeâ, âpeople who do not read anymoreâ, and to use a Dutch expression; âDonât look further than their nose is long. Only think about the short-term consequences, not the long-term effects.â Or another Dutch expression; âWhat the farmer does not know, he does not eat. (=People don't like (are afraid of) what they don't know.)â
Irritating about the Eurovision is the âBlock thinkingâ and âattitudeâ. Slavic countries voting for Slavic countries, neighbours voting for neighbours, Germanic countries voting for Germanic countries for the Germanic ones and the Latin Romanesque for the Latin Romanesque and the Scandinavians for the Scandinavian ones.
This is my critical analysis of the Eurovision.
But it is good that it exists. I have to say that I found past contributions of the Netherlands better than the one of 2022. I have the same criticism of the Netherlands Karl had for the Danish one.
What I like or love about the Slavic countries sometimes is the Folk, Peoples culture and thus authentic Slavic elements in it like the Ukrainian one today and some Russian ones in the past.
Cheers,
Pieter