Lithuania is not what you think it is! :)

[Agota]

I was inspired by the "India is not what you think it is" thread

A lot people from other parts of the world have some weird misconceptions about Eastern Europe. I can't talk much about other countries, but I can answer questions about my own country. In case there was always something you wanted to know about Lithuania, but didn't dare to ask (like "Where is it?" ), this is your chance!

One thing about Lithuania is for sure, though: women are very beautiful here

[invisiblehouses]

Ya mean Eastern Europe isn't exactly as it's presented in those Hostel movies?

[Jon Tore]

Originally Posted by Agota

In case there was always something you wanted to know about Lithuania, but didn't dare to ask (like "Where is it?" ), this is your chance!

Or you could just ask me I recently did a video where I placed the European countries, and Lithuania was not an exception to the madness.

This link should take you straight to the Luthiania placement. YouTube - ‪My map of the world, part 2.‬‏

[Agota]

I haven't seen "Hostel", actually

..generally, no, in most hostels people aren't tortured and sliced in pieces

[Agota]

Oh, boy, that guess was pretty far from an actual location of Lithuania

[Angelique]

Your funny, Agota! I was thinking of doing one on the US after reading something you asked.

What are the native languages of Lithuania?

[beast]

I'm a quarter Lithuanian, so I will attest to Lithuanian women being very beautiful! I love the Baltic countries so much.

[lookcloser]

Originally Posted by Agota

One thing about Lithuania is for sure, though: women are very beautiful here

I can see that

Lol I thought Lithuania was a city (In my defense, I got measles when they were teaching about Europe in geography class. I don't know where ANY of the European countries are! I thought Rome was in Africa No, seriously)

How big is the country? Is it heavily populated? What's the most watched sport there?

[ssandra]

I have this image in my mind of some very modern cities with lots and lots of nature around it.... is that the least bit accurate?

Does it have mountains?

[Northern Cross]

I'd love to visit Vilnius and Kaunas, but is there anywhere less-known that I should check out?

I'll likely be in Poland later this year, but not sure if I have the time to make it out to Lithuania. Would love to see it though.

[Agota]

Originally Posted by Angelique

Your funny, Agota! I was thinking of doing one on the US after reading something you asked.

Oh, yeah, you should! I'm really confused by the mixed images that media use to present US. I guess I'll never know until I go there myself, though

Originally Posted by Angelique

What are the native languages of Lithuania?

There's only one native language in Lithuania, which, surprisingly, is Lithuanian. I can't really be sure, but I've heard that it is considered to be one of the most difficult languages in the world because of it's complicated grammar, which is puzzling even to native speakers. I have no idea how foreign people actually learn this language

Lithuanian people, especially older generation, are very patriotic and language is very related to the national identity. There was a time when Lithuania was occupied by Russian Empire (not to be confused with SSSR!). During that time, there was a period when written Lithuanian language was forbidden. People created secret schools to teach kids to write and read in their own language. There was also people who used illegally cross the border, get the books in Lithuanian which were printed in other countries and illegally carry them into Lithuania. They risked being shot or hanged because of carrying those books. These people are kind of national heroes, they would be called book-carriers, but really there is no equivalent in other languages because this is unique thing in history as far as I know. No wonder Lithuanians are so protective about preserving their language.

However, that language preservation goes a little bit overboard sometimes in my opinion. Linguists constantly invent weird Lithuanian words for things that are called by international names in other countries, which most native speakers don't use or understand. I also can't use software like Windows XP translated into Lithuanian because I can't understand half of the words, since I have never heard them in my life (keep in mind that I'm native speaker). I have also heard that was a celebration of anniversary of a letter ū, which is unique to our language (if I'm not confusing letters). On top of that, I heard that some people are actually translating names of famous people into Lithuanian, so Lev Tolstoy becomes Lion Fat (direct translation from Russian), or Alexander Pushkin becomes Alexander Cannon (also from Russian). I really hope those people are not serious

That being sad, it's hard to find organic words (as opposed to weird word even native speakers can't understand) for certain topics, such as personal development or psychology. I'd really stuck if I'd have to write article in Lithuanian, simply because it would take me long time to translate certain terms (it took like three days for me and my friend to translate "pattern" into Lithuanian, since we didn't know what word to use ). I really don't think that Lithuanian language has a wide vocabulary, assuming we don't count weird words created by weird linguists.

Other popular languages in Lithuania are Russian and Polish. When it comes to young people, it's normal to know three languages: Lithuanian, Russian and English. Polish people also know Polish on top of that. This is why it amuses me when native English people are impressed by speaking three languages

It's not recommended to ask anyone from Eastern Europe do they speak Russian in their country and imply that they mother tongue must be Russian. I suggest to simply ask what they speak, since being related with Russians often annoy Eastern Europeans very much

P.S. Funny thing is that my language almost doesn't have really bad swear words. Many expressions are very mild, for example, as you in English people say "Damn!", in Lithuanian people could say "Toad!". We have bad words, but they are very mild compared to Russian bad words, that why most Lithuanians swear in Russian. Russian words are extremely rude and direct translation to English language doesn't convey the rudeness. I once tried to translate very rude Russian word, which basically means "penis" in a vulgar way, to English, but there's no equivalent I'd be aware about.

P.P.S. What annoys me is that it seems that in my language there's only "****" or "make love", meanwhile in English and Russian there is "****", "have sex" and "make love". Maybe I should complain to linguists, I think they would find a solution to that

[AlmostGodess]

Why do you give people funny and unpronounceable names?

[Agota]

Originally Posted by lookcloser

Lol I thought Lithuania was a city (In my defense, I got measles when they were teaching about Europe in geography class. I don't know where ANY of the European countries are! I thought Rome was in Africa No, seriously)

Lol

Don't worry, I called HMRC (Her Majesty Revenue and Customs, UK) like a week ago to sort out my tax refund and told them my full adress in Lithuania. Then, I got a question "And in which country Lithuania is exactly?". I think if people working in tax office of United Kingdom can be unaware of that, you shouldn't be very harsh on yourself

Originally Posted by lookcloser

How big is the country? Is it heavily populated? What's the most watched sport there?

Country is very small, it's around 65,200 km2.

We have around 3 million people in Lithuania.

The most watched sport is basketball, it's often said that basketball is second religion for Lithuanians. No wonder, we play pretty well.

..having no interest in basketball makes me a very weird Lithuanian

[Agota]

Originally Posted by ssandra

I have this image in my mind of some very modern cities with lots and lots of nature around it.... is that the least bit accurate?

Does it have mountains?

I wouldn't call it very modern (like, not Tokyo or New York modern). There's a lot of old architecture left,especially in Vilnius (capital), which has a very beautiful Old Town.

Yes, nature is everywhere, forests are everywhere and lakes are everywhere (well, lakes are outside the city, but it's like 30 minutes bus ride). I only realized how green Vilnius and Lithuania in general is when I moved to London. I felt like I was choking because of the lack of nature and there are no normal lakes to go in the hot summer day!

Nop, we don't have any mountains. I guess that's why mountains seem very beautiful to me

[Agota]

Originally Posted by Northern Cross

I'd love to visit Vilnius and Kaunas, but is there anywhere less-known that I should check out?

I'll likely be in Poland later this year, but not sure if I have the time to make it out to Lithuania. Would love to see it though.

Apart Vilnius and Kaunas, you should definitely check out two places:

- Trakai. This is the old capital of Lithuania which has a castle in a middle of a lake. It's nice, since you can visit the castle, rent a boat and swim to some little island and swim in the lake. You can also get a taste of Karaim culture, since one Great Duke of Lithuania brought them as warriors in the middle ages and they stayed there (they're from somewhere far away, Mongolia or something like that, I just don't remember exactly).

- Nida. This is a place near on the shore of Baltic sea. Nature is very beautiful and Dead Dune and other dunes are simply surreal.

[Wax Frog]

I'm one war and one generation removed from your part of the world, with a Mom who's a natural storyteller, so my misconceptions have probably been nipped in the bud.

I must ask, though - have you ever eaten any form of kapusta?

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by Agota

One thing about Lithuania is for sure, though: women are very beautiful here

[faints, wakes back up, glances at Agota's avatar, faints again]

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by invisiblehouses

Ya mean Eastern Europe isn't exactly as it's presented in those Hostel movies?

Rep substitute! 5 stars!

[Agota]

Originally Posted by AlmostGodess

Why do you give people funny and unpronounceable names?

Give me an example

No, names are usually pronounceable. They're really not that hard, they're simply unusual for English speakers (I think that I've met less than five people who are native English speakers who would be able to pronounce my name correctly, meaning the same way I'd pronounce it ).

Last names, however, can be difficult (my last name makes people feel helpless, try pronouncing Bialobzeskyte ). It also confuses foreign people that same last name can have few variations: for a male, for unmarried female and for married female. Anyone who knows that system can say that I'm either not married or didn't change my last name by simply looking at my last name.

Believe me, Russian names are more difficult, since they have names, last names and father-names. I couldn't read "Ana Karenina" because I was confused is that different person or is it a father name of previous peson. Well, I was in sixth grade, though, hopefully I'd do better now

P.S. The fact that we pronounce letters differently (LT: a EN: r ; LT:i EN: e, etc) doesn't help me to spell my last name in English. I'm getting better with practice, though

[Angelique]

Originally Posted by Agota

Oh, yeah, you should! I'm really confused by the mixed images that media use to present US. I guess I'll never know until I go there myself, though

Okay.

The US is probably what you think it is.. :D

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by Agota

... for example, as you in English people say "Damn!", in Lithuanian people could say "Toad!".

How delectably appropriate!

[AlmostGodess]

Originally Posted by Agota

Give me an example

Goštautas, Kęsgaila, Vytautas, Gediminas, Algirdas, Žygimantas, Paulauskas, Paulauskienė, Paulauskaitė (all this to express different marital status?), Xvidavi etc.

[invisiblehouses]

Originally Posted by Agota

I haven't seen "Hostel", actually

..generally, no, in most hostels people aren't tortured and sliced in pieces

Well as long as it's most, I'll have to check it out someday.

[Tanja]

Originally Posted by Agota

I also can't use software like Windows XP translated into Lithuanian because I can't understand half of the words, since I have never heard them in my life (keep in mind that I'm native speaker).

This made me laugh because I have the same problem in my language!
On the one hand it may be annoying (and oftentimes awkward), but on the other hand, I think it's good for a language to come up with its own new solutions.

Informative thread!

[Agota]

Originally Posted by Wax Frog

I must ask, though - have you ever eaten any form of kapusta?

I think you meant kopustai, which in this sentence you should say kopustu . Yes, of course I've eaten cabbages, it's not that exotic, you know

Why Lithuanian language is difficult to most foreign people:

The word is kopūstas, which means cabbage. However, it changes depending to what question is answers:

What: Kopūstas

Whose: Kopūsto

To who: Kopūstui

Who: Kopūstą

With what: Kopūstu

Where: Kopūste

Exclamation: Kopūste

That's for one cabbage, many cabbages is "kopūstai" and answer to every question is different. That's just one of myriad grammar rules

Note: That was very free translation, since I don't have a clue how to properly translate that question table.

[Angelique]

Wow, I didn't know there was so much behind the language! Thank you for going into this in detail. I don't think I could recognize Lithuanian if I heard it.

I do think Polish sounds absolutely beautiful, though, and it's on my list of languages I want to learn.

Originally Posted by Agota

P.S. Funny thing is that my language almost doesn't have really bad swear words. Many expressions are very mild, for example, as you in English people say "Damn!", in Lithuanian people could say "Toad!". We have bad words, but they are very mild compared to Russian bad words, that why most Lithuanians swear in Russian. Russian words are extremely rude and direct translation to English language doesn't convey the rudeness. I once tried to translate very rude Russian word, which basically means "penis" in a vulgar way, to English, but there's no equivalent I'd be aware about.

I can relate to this! As I understand it, it is PLENTY worse to call someone "stupid" in Spanish as opposed to English. And the derogatory words for penis in Spanish seems more vulgar. If I were to say something like that to Latinos they'd probably stare at me like I just shot someone - especially because I'm a woman.

[Agota]

Originally Posted by AlmostGodess

Goštautas, Kęsgaila, Vytautas, Gediminas, Algirdas, Žygimantas, Paulauskas, Paulauskienė, Paulauskaitė (all this to express different marital status?), Xvidavi etc.

Names: Vytautas, Gediminas, Algirdas, Žygimantas. These are all male names. It's actually all names of Great Dukes of Lithuania. Gediminas was the one who built Vilnius, the current capital

Last names: Goštautas - man.

Paulauskas - man.

Paulauskienė - wife of Paulauskas.

Paulauskaitė - daughter of Paulauskas.

I think it's a name: Kęsgaila (although I have never heard it before, but it's very Lithuanian and means something close to "endure the sorrow").

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by Agota

I think you meant kopustai, which in this sentence you should say kopustu . Yes, of course I've eaten cabbages, it's not that exotic, you know

Yes, and you hopefully know that I've a proud reputation for engaging in inane forum antics

Allow me to explain my question: there used to be a local talk-radio host who loved to talk about his Lithuanian heritage, and he fell in love with my (East Prussian) Mom when she became a regular caller, it was almost like she became an adopted sister. In one particular phone conversation, the matter of kapusta (as a soup) came up. The host was thrilled to find someone else who had heard of the dish! They had fun discussing the regional variations in the ingredients they remembered...

---

When here I like to affectionately tease the Almost Goddess/Tanja/Mariniks of the board with my imaginary region of Greater Kapustana (usually with a mess of meaningless diacritic marks attached). May I add you to the club?

[AlmostGodess]

Originally Posted by Wax Frog

Yes, and you hopefully know that I've a proud reputation for engaging in inane forum antics

Allow me to explain my question: there used to be a local talk-radio host who loved to talk about his Lithuanian heritage, and he fell in love with my (East Prussian) Mom when she became a regular caller, it was almost like she became an adopted sister. In one particular phone conversation, the matter of kapusta (as a soup) came up. The host was thrilled to find someone else who had heard of the dish! They had fun discussing the regional variations in the ingredients they remembered...

---

When here I like to affectionately tease the Almost Goddess/Tanja/Mariniks of the board with my imaginary region of Kapustana (usually with a mess of meaningless diacritic marks attached). May I add you to the club?

Oh, such a lovely story and your Kapustana concept finally makes sense

[VinceG]

Originally Posted by Agota

I couldn't read "Ana Karenina" because I was confused is that different person or is it a father name of previous peson.

Yeah, I had trouble with that too. But once I got my head wrapped around the strange form of address, it was a fantastic read.