People write in from Canada, Australia and America, and the same sentence comes up again and again: my parents spoke Croatian to each other, and English to me, and I don't know why.
This episode of Ćakula Café answers that question. It goes back to the sixties and seventies, to a shop where people laughed when someone spoke with a foreign accent, and to a conversation with a teacher who gave parents advice we now know was wrong.
This isn't a story about guilt, but about a decision made with fear and with love. And about why people who grew up that way aren't starting from zero.
Slower, clearer Croatian for A2 learners — an episode on heritage language loss and raising bilingual children in Croatian, for diaspora Croatians and heritage speakers still wondering why their parents made that choice.
Key vocabulary:
odluka (OD-loo-ka) decision. Donijeti odluku is to make one
savjet (SAV-yet) advice; in this story, the wrong kind
zaostati (za-OS-ta-tee) to fall behind; the word that frightened a generation of parents
zaštita (ZASH-tee-ta) protection; what they believed they were giving
naglasak (NA-gla-sak) accent; the thing they did not want you to carry
prepoznati (preh-POZ-na-tee) to recognise; what your ear does before you can explain it
uho (OO-hoh) ear; the advantage you have and did not ask for
nestati (NES-ta-tee) to disappear; the language did not
djetinjstvo (dyeh-TEEN-ystvoh) childhood; where it is still lying quietly
prekasno (preh-KAS-noh) too late; it is not
How to use this episode: Listen on Spotify with subtitles on. Find your key words. Look those up. Not every word. Just the key ones. Then listen again. Each time you will understand a little more.
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