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"Don't
you speak English?"
"Very
little, sir."
In
the days preceding the First World War, the majority of Macedonian
men in Toronto had very little desire to learn English.
Toronto
was yet another migratory stop for the men who had grown accustomed
to the need of working beyond the bounds of the village. Macedonian
men came to Toronto in hopes of making the best of it, to live frugally
and to earn good money as industrial labourers. These men saw their
future squarely in terms of the old country, amid their families
and farms.
Cash
obtained in the New World would be used to consolidate or expand
meagre homesteads. As sojourners, they saw little need to familiarize
themselves with Canadian ways.
As
long as they could f nd and hold down a job for the duration of
their stay, Macedonians were satisfied to stay at the periphery
of the city's cultural life.
The
boarding houses, cafes, diners, even the act of working together
at the various slaughterhouses and smelting plants in Toronto provided
the migrant men with a familiar ambiance in an otherwise hostile
environment.
Assuming
the temporary nature of their stay, Macedonians were content to
depend on go-betweens, men who possessed a degree of literacy and
an understanding of the English language, when the need arose.
Indeed,
one should also note that the go-betweens provided an additional
service to those men illiterate in their own language as well, by
writing to concerned families in the village.
The
few men who chose to learn English at this time, either because
they had a literary turn of mind or, more likely, had already made
the decision to remain in Canada, had to endure either hostility
or the humorous barbs of their relatives and countrymen - "What
do you want to be? A teacher?"1
Frequently
afraid and suspicious, migrant men saw the acquisition of the English
language as an unsettling and disruptive force threatening the workings
of the migratory process.An
immigrant summed up the situation:
If the father had a son and he wants to go school, he [the father]
thinks as soon as he [the son] learns English he would leave the
father and won't go to the old country. He'll stay for good.2
Another
young Macedonian had his English-language texts burned in the stove
by a concerned brother who also feared the undesirable influence
of schooling.3
Perhaps the first migrant bachelors had been content to depend
on go-betweens, but when men lost a sojourning frame of mind,
sent for families or sweethearts in the old country, and began
to have Canadian children, they knew that English-language proficiency,
at least of a functional kind, was a weapon which could help to
protect the safety and future of the family.4
The
Macedonians' commitment to a temporary existence in Toronto was
to be significantly altered by the cessation of the Balkan War.
The long-standing and oppressive domination of Macedonia by the
Ottoman Empire now gave way to the rigours of the succeeding Greek
regime.
The
confused and unhappy situation in the old country convinced the
men abroad that the future for themselves and their families lay
in the New World. The need to learn the English language took on
new immediacy and importance as a result of the decision to stay.
The
Toronto Board of Education offered English-language classes to the
city's immigrants as part of its night-school program.
In
1907 English-language classes under the direction of the Rev. G.M.
Atlas began at the Sackville Street Public School, which was located
in the heart of the Macedonian East End settlement area.5
In
1909 a Bulgarian immigrant, Apostol Kalavasoff, also joined the
Sackville Street School language program as an assistant master.
Kalavasoff taught both oral and written English to a group of thirty
Macedonian men.6
Later
that same year, Kalavasoff obtained the position as principal of
the night-school that was held at the Niagara Street Public School.
As principal, Kalavasoff instructed a class of over forty men.7
The
Baptist Church also offered English-language instruction in the
evening at its King Street Mission. Young volunteer instructors,
recruited from various established Baptist congregations in the
city, assumed the responsibility for teaching the mission faithful.8
While
the Baptist Church sought to teach the immigrants English, it did
not forget its raison d'etre. Immigrants were taught the language,
laws and customs of Canada only after they had been, in the words
of one Baptist missionary, "taught the laws of Upper Canada - Heaven."
Frankly religious in character, the classes included prayer and
scripture-reading sessions.9
As
part of their Canadian Christian Fellowship Program, Baptist women,
moving away from the confines of the church and mission halls, ventured
into the immigrant community and offered English-language instruction
to Macedonian women in the familiar and less imposing surroundings
of their homes.10
English-language
classes were also set up by various industrial and business concerns.
Dominion Glass Works, for example, conducted classes during company
lunch breaks. Anglo-Canadian workmen, assuming the role of teachers,
attempted to acquaint the immigrant workers, among them Macedonians,
with the fundamentals of English." The teaching programs of schools,
churches and industry were supplemented by classes conducted within
the Macedonian community.
John
Grudeff, an Arts student at the University of Toronto, organized
two classes for his countrymen in 1917. One class was conducted
at the Bull's Head Hotel. The Hotel's enthusiastic proprietor, Vasil
Stoyanoff, provided free accommodation and encouragement to all
those in attendance. The other class was held at Mitre's grocery
store, which was located at the corner of Keele Street and St. Clair
Avenue West. Here young Macedonian men learned arithmetic, English
and Bulgarian grammar.12
Classroom
attempts to teach English met with only moderate success. The demands
of time and energy on Macedonian factory labourers and small shopkeepers
discouraged steady attendance. Other Macedonians shunned the classes
simply because they feared a public display of their uncertainty
and verbal clumsiness.13
In
1907 the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Church dispatched its clerical
representative, Hieromonak Theophilact, to North America for the
purpose of ministering to the needs of "our people and to organize
church communities."
That
same year, Theophilact obtained the Macedonians' enthusiastic support
for the building of SS. Cyril and Methodius Church in Granite City,
Illinois. In 1908 he presided over the building of the Annunciation
Church in Steelton, Pennsylvania,14
then Theophilact came to Toronto.
The
Macedonian community in Toronto purchased a building at the corner
of Trinity and Eastern Avenue on November 29, 1910.
The
ground floor was converted into the SS. Cyril and Methodius Church,
and duly consecrated by the Russian Metropolitan Platoon and his
vicar at an elaborate and well-attended ceremony held on May 24,
911.15
By
1913 Theophilact was pastor of this church and had been elevated
by the Bulgarian Holy Synod to the ecclesiastical rank of archimandrite
in recognition of his outstanding missionary efforts.16
In that
same year he compiled The First Bulgarian-English Pocket Dictionary.
As
a spiritual leader among Macedonians in the New World, Archimandrite
Theophilact heard at first hand the various problems confronting
his immigrant flock. "Five years of constant communication" with
his countrymen had convinced Theophilact of the "need for a Bulgarian-English
dictionary, published in an easy-to-carry pocket form edition of
a reasonable price."17
The
priest felt that he was under a "moral obligation" to help Macedonians
improve their material lot in life. He believed that his countrymen
had left their "Fatherland," travelled to this "far off, unknown
and frequently inhospitable land" for the "sole purpose" of bettering
their economic condition; a dictionary would help them do so.
The
dictionary was published by the first Bulgarian publishing house
in Canada. Printing and publishing was made possible through the
generosity of a group of Macedonian labourers and entrepreneurs.
Noting
each man's village or city of origin, Theophilact graciously offered
thanks to these gentlemen in the dictionary's introduction. The
priest also expressed a special note of thanks to Mr. Nikola Velcoff
of the village of Debrets for his "moral approval and material help"
as printer and typesetter.
Theophilact
received copy editing assistance from the educational secretary
of the Broadview Branch of the YMCA, Mr. E.W. Cameron, who made
corrections to the English-language portions of the text.
The
support of such businessmen as Hadji D. Peroff and Vasil Pop Stefanoff
was visible in the back pages of the book, where they had purchased
advertising space. Peroff informed dictionary readers of the many
services that his company, which was located in Toronto at 18 Eastern
Avenue, could provide:
Our firm's business is selling large and small old country foodstuffs
and products, issuing ship cards with the best steamships, sending
money to Bulgaria and Macedonia through express and exchanging
Napoleons.
Promising
to serve customers "quickly, honestly and accurately," the steamship
and banking agency, Slave Petroff and Company of 457 King Street
East, Toronto, offered the services of a labour bureau, a post office
and address bureau.
The
firm also sold insurance and a variety of first-aid preparations.
Steamship agent and restaurateur, Vasil Pop Stefanoff of 3 Morris
Street, New York City, reminded all Macedonians who might visit
that city that they could purchase their choice of steamship tickets
and enjoy dining at his "well-established restaurant where every
Macedonian and Bulgarian will be most satisfied with our reception
as well as our food and our price."
The
dictionary also contained such non-group advertisements as that
of the Toronto pharmacist, F.A. Jacobs, who dispensed Cooper's Headache
Cure and Cooper's Constipation Cure upon request.
The
most interesting advertisement of the group is that of the Toronto
book dealers, Bistreff Dimitroff of 304 King Street East, for it
extolled the philosophy of the dictionary itself.
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As
proud distributors of the work, the firm encouraged readers to expand
their literary horizons in order to become more upwardly mobile:
The
habit of reading and meditation is a most certain means of self-education
for all those who did not have the opportunity to go to school
when they were young.
We took the care to supply you through our bookstore for Bulgarian
immigrants in both Canada and the United States with books that
will help to widen self-knowledge.Ask
for our catalogue, which is free of charge, and from it you can
choose that book with which you are most pleased.
Read, educate yourself, widen your knowledge, if you do not want
to be forever the slave of someone else.The
unskilled man is forever subject to others. Live like a human
being! Be conscious as a man! Our bookstore will guide you. Write
to our above address.
Macedonians
were also solicited by Mr. A.G. Raycoff, the "Official Interpreter
at the Police and County Courts," and informed that he was available
to those who sought accurate service "during the performance of
any kind of case" or needed assistance when dealing with companies
and official departments.
The
First Bulgarian-English Pocket Dictionary reflected as much
as shaped the Macedonian experience in North America. America to
the majority of Macedonians was wherever there were jobs. One Macedonian's
work history shows the pattern.
During
his career, he worked in a shoeshine parlour in Detroit, a restaurant
in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a bakery in Mansfield, Ohio, only to end
up in Toronto, which had been his initial destination, working as
an independent milkman. Later he owned a restaurant in Hamilton,
Ontario.18
The
dictionary foresaw such a man's needs and reflected in its phrases
this element of movement and crossing of boundaries. A sample lesson
read:
Do
you know where do Bulgarians live in this city? Yes, sir. They
are living on King Street.Will
you direct me to this street?
On
which part of the city?
On
the east
On the west
On the south
On the north
Which car to take to go there?
It
is not needed to take the car.It
is close by.
You will take the King car.
Where to get off for Eastern Avenue?
Thank
you for your kind information.
The
next two pages suggested how little the border meant in the immigrant
world of work.
Where
is the Wabash depot?
What time does the train leave for Chicago? When does the next
train leave?
When does the train arrive in Chicago?
How many hours does it take to go from Toronto to Chicago?
What is the fair [sic] from Toronto to Chicago?
Theophilact
further acknowledged the continental quality of the Macedonian presence
when he outlined and compared the citizenship requirements of both
the United States and Canada. Speaking of Canada's citizenship requirements,
the author observed:
You are not required to know the English language as in the United
States. There is no examination.
Theophilact's
treatise on citizenship is also important for its cautionary note.
The priest offered a warning to his readers about the potential
problems and uncertain protection provided by an American or Canadian
passport in the homeland. This was a particularly important piece
of advice, since visits to villages which fell under Greek rule
could result in a demand, for example, to fulfill a military obligation
as a Greek citizen.
The
dictionary's compiler hoped to protect unsuspecting Macedonians
from harm in the work world by making them more aware of their conditions
of employment. He showed readers how to ask a foreman or potential
employer for a job:
Good
morning, sir. Have you any work for me? Yes, sir.
No
work today.
Come
tomorrow morning....
and
for their friends:
Do you need more labourers?
I need five more men. All right. I will bring them tomorrow morning.
How
to ask about wages:
How
much do you pay per hour for this work?
How much do you pay per day for this work?
How much do you pay a week for this work?
How long will this work last?
Fifteen cents per hour.
Dollar and a half a day.
Nine dollars a week.
I
am satisfied with this wage.
and
hours of employment:
How
many hours do we work a day?
Is there overtime?
Theophilact also included lessons on how to ask for a better job:
Dear
Sir:
As my present work with the _________ does give me an opportunity
for advancement I respectfully beg to make application for a change
to some other work ....
and
how to request a day off when ill or attending a relative's funeral.
The
dictionary offered guidance on various matters of physical well-being
and personal appearance, and how to communicate in English with
a doctor through a description of symptoms.
While
offering translations for such common ailments as constipation and
diarrhea, Theophilact placed more emphasis upon diseases as rheumatism
and tuberculosis:
I
cough very much.
I
have night sweats.
I spit blood.
because
they were most prevalent among Macedonian workers in slaughterhouses
and factories.
The
immigrants were also instructed how to maintain health through a
nutritious and familiar diet. English words were provided for such
items as leeks, garlic, olive oil, green and red peppers, beans
and beets. On personal grooming and attire, immigrants were taught,
for example, how to ask for a shave and a haircut. They learned
the English words
for boots, working gloves, summer suits and vests.
In
1922 Archimandrite Theophilact, then Dr. Demetrius Mallin, having
left the priesthood to pursue a career in medicine, sold his dictionary
copyright to the Bulgarian printing house Naroden Glas in Granite
City, Illinois. Naroden Glas was eager to produce a second edition
of this popular work since there was, in the firm's opinion, "no
other inexpensive aid to easily learn how to speak English." "Technical
difficulties and other considerations," however, kept the second
edition from appearing until the beginning of 1936.
The
First Bulgarian-English Pocket Dictionary successfully served
as a useful language primer, a first step in mastering the English
language. "I do not pretend," Theophilact wrote in the dictionary's
introduction, "that I did something complete." He admitted that
his little dictionary was not a definitive work. Concerned primarily
with the problems of work settlement, the major concerns of a mobile
and temporary group of settlers, the dictionary was in many ways
deficient as an English-language guide for the Macedonian as immigrant,
permanent settler and family man.
The
task of covering the omissions and broadening the immigrants' source
of reference subsequently fell to the editors and compilers of the
larger, more detailed letter-writers, but the dictionary succeeded
in touching all aspects of the life of Macedonians in the New World,
and occupied an honoured place in many homes.
NOTES
1.
Interview with Vasil Dimitroff, Toronto, August 26, 1976.
2.
Interview with Nick Temelcoff, Toronto, July 8, 1976.
3.
Interview with Anastas Petroff, Toronto, December 6, 1975.
4.
Polyphony, no. I (Fall-Winter 1977), p. 4.
5.
Toronto Board of Education Minutes, 1907, pp. 468, 501.
6.
Toronto Board of Education Minutes, 1909, p. 9; interview with Mike
Tallin, Toronto, August 25, 1975.
7.
Toronto Board of Education Minutes, 1909, p. 9.
8.
C.J. Cameron, Foreigners or Canadians? (Toronto: Standard Publishing
Company, 1913), p. 26.
9.
1 bid., p. 44.
10.
C. Evans, Basic English (Toronto: Women's Baptist Home Missionary
Society, n.d.) p. 1.
11.
Interview with Dincho Ralley, Toronto, July 4, 1975.
12.
John Grudeff, mss., pp. 197-99.
13.
Polyphony, no. I (Fall-Winter 1977), p. 4.
14.
SS. Cyril and Methodius Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Cathedral, 50th
Anniversary Jubilee Almanac, 1910-1960 (Toronto, 1960), pp. 27-28.
15.
Ibid., pp. 34, 38.
16.
Ibid., p. 39.
17.
D.G. Malincheff and J. Theophilact, The First Bulgarian-English
Pocket Dictionary (Toronto: D.G. Malincheff and N.D. Velcoff
Co., 1913). Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent quotes, advertisements,
etc., are from the Pocket Dictionary.
18.
Interview with Methody Sarbinoff (Michael Phillips), Toronto, May
7, 1977.
* The
author would like to thank Mr. Foto S. Tomev for his assistance
and translations of the Bulgarian-language texts.
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