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Every year, this grandmother who lived in Kaposvar came to see us in Bratislava. She stayed with us for a month. Our relationship was extremely good. She was a very cheerful, slightly chubby creature. She spoke Hungarian, German and French perfectly. Somehow they [my parents] were well-off, because they had had a French teacher woman.
When my grandmother was here, if we were going down the street, she always had a pencil and little pad, and took notes. I said, ‘Grandma, what are you writing?’ ‘Oh, my dear little one, I’m learning Slovakian now. Because if I come back in the future, I want to know more.’
Signs were written in three languages everywhere – Slovak, German and Hungarian – and if there was a sign up, she read it and wrote it down. At the end, when she’d been here many times with us, she understood what they were saying. Of course, in Bratislava then, very few people spoke Slovakian, but she understood it. We really, really loved her.
When my grandmother was here, if we were going down the street, she always had a pencil and little pad, and took notes. I said, ‘Grandma, what are you writing?’ ‘Oh, my dear little one, I’m learning Slovakian now. Because if I come back in the future, I want to know more.’
Signs were written in three languages everywhere – Slovak, German and Hungarian – and if there was a sign up, she read it and wrote it down. At the end, when she’d been here many times with us, she understood what they were saying. Of course, in Bratislava then, very few people spoke Slovakian, but she understood it. We really, really loved her.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Katarina Löfflerova
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