Diversity...crossing the borders, mixing the genepool

[TheBlackDahlia]

Incredibly proud of my ethnicity: 50% Italian, 25% Sicilian and another 25% Northern European (German, Dutch and French). The Sicilian is also mixed in with some Middle Eastern backgrounds. I do speak some Italian and would love to become fluent in the language. I'd also love to learn German and Arabic one day.

 

[Tabea]

My family is actually quite boring. I don’t know of any non-German ancestors.

I speak German and English and had 6 years of Latin at school (pretty useless). I would like to learn Spanish.

I am surprised at how many of you have some German heritage. That several of you are actually interested in learning German astonished me as well. The attitude of native English speakers I have encountered more often so far was “What’s the point in learning German? Germans speak English, don’t they?” I find it a bit sad that American or British soldiers often stay in Germany for up to 5 or 7 years and do not learn any German. They will tell you (but not demonstrate) that they can order beer in German – but that’s not much of an achievement considering it is pronounced exactly the same way.

 

[catalina_francisco]

I envy those of you who have more than one language...I'm working on it, but I think there are too many other distractions in our lives at the moment for me to break through the barriers enough to fly with it. F speaks several, and of course learned them as a child so finds it difficult to understand why it doesn't seem to come that easy for me...oh well, I don't give up easy.

Catalina

 

[Homburg]

Dad is half Scottish, half Japanese. Mom is half Polish, and the rest a mix of English, Dutch, Irish, and other assorted white peoples. My wife is Slavic, Jewish (along matrilineal lines), Russian Gypsy, (northern) Italian, and who knows what else. Our kids are really serious mutts.

 

[doveofserenity]

Dad was full blood Cherokee, and mom is 1/2 Cherokee and 1/2 Scottish. So that makes me 3/4 Cherokee and 1/4 Scottish.

i speak English, some Cherokee, and still can remember my spanish from high school. And am in process of taking classes to be able to fully speak Cherokee, once again.

 

[EmpressFi]

Dad was full blood Cherokee, and mom is 1/2 Cherokee and 1/2 Scottish. So that makes me 3/4 Cherokee and 1/4 Scottish.

i speak English, some Cherokee, and still can remember my spanish from high school. And am in process of taking classes to be able to fully speak Cherokee, once again.

Now I'm jealous, sis

 

[doveofserenity]

Now I'm jealous, sis

~grins~ No need, i take the classes online so will dig thru all my links and send it to you.

Wonderful way to get back in touch with our language. Been thinking about finding online classes for Italian and/or Gaelic after i finish these classes.

 

[EmpressFi]

I want to learn Gaelic.. more than the few words I already know

 

[Jay98]

Wow so many people seem to have Cherokee blood! Thats so cool. Id love to meet a real Native American Indian someday. Or someone descended from.

 

[FurryFury]

I know what you mean. The exotic gets me hot sometimes too, waaay hot.

 

[Stegral]

I am a mutt as well..
Polish, british, scotish, irish, for my grandparents...
speak english quite loudly.
I understand bits of french, italian, polish & spanish.
I am leaning german through music.
I can count one to ten & have about 10 basic words.
I can sing the german versions of the songs half decent but I don't understand most of it.
I love the german songs I listen to..
the (for lack of a better term) gutteral draw on the words is erotic to me...
almost a growl, deep & well... MMmmmMMMMmmmm

 

[FurryFury]

I am a mutt as well..
Polish, british, scotish, irish, for my grandparents...
speak english quite loudly.
I understand bits of french, italian, polish & spanish.
I am leaning german through music.
I can count one to ten & have about 10 basic words.
I can sing the german versions of the songs half decent but I don't understand most of it.
I love the german songs I listen to..
the (for lack of a better term) gutteral draw on the words is erotic to me...
almost a growl, deep & well... MMmmmMMMMmmmm

We have so much in common. Only I don't sing German songs except at Octoberfest and if you count the one about how many balls Hilter had . . .

 

[Netzach]

Mom is ashkenaz Jewish, 1/4 russian 3/4 polish sides of the lines, but who's really counting that....

sperm was a mayflower WASP. Well, just like, a boat or two after the mayflower. I have no clue about any of his stuff or him really.

My French once did not suck, but that was purely academic. I also took not enough Spanish in college to be able know what some of my friends are saying when they switch over beyond the most absolute basic things, and I can't help out someone who can't understand any English with directions or information, which bothers me too. I wanted to take Spanish not French but that was a battle lost with my mother in HS.

People can argue all day long about what language SHOULD be spoken in America and all that crap - I really don't care. It's going to be a bilingual country, crack a book and deal if you want a piece of the potential, and profit - and I mean that in monetary social and cultural profit sense.

 

[midwestyankee]

Second generation American. Both my parents' parents came from Canada: maritime province Scottish on one side and Québec province French on the other side. Because of the mixed heritage, we spoke English in the home but I studied French in school from 3rd grade through a minor in college. Like Netz, my French used to not suck but I've recently started using it more frequently. This summer I was in a French-only setting for a couple days and held my own. Even managed to do a detailed discussion of one of my past graduate-school research projects in French so I guess it's passable.

Also learned Latin in school and did what I could to teach myself church Greek. While studying linguistics in grad school I learned bits and pieces of about 50 or 60 languages to learn about such exciting things as phonetics, phonemics, morphology, syntax and such.

 

[myinnerslut]

jewish is not a nationality!! sorry, pet peeve of mine.

"american mutt" summed it up really well, thanks for the phrase bholderman.

on both sides of my family i have hungarian a few generations back. also polish. im not really sure what else.

 

[Netzach]

jewish is not a nationality!! sorry, pet peeve of mine.

"american mutt" summed it up really well, thanks for the phrase bholderman.

on both sides of my family i have hungarian a few generations back. also polish. im not really sure what else.

The Poles and Russians would have begged to differ on my forebears being Poles or Russians.
I don't see how it is less one than "Cherokee" - we took care of that, too.
As long as anti-Semitism is alive and well, I don't think I can happily lump myself in with the Swedes here, much as I like 'em.

 

[Dreamliner]

I am or Irish extraction and happily have due citizenship, New Zealand and Eire.

I speak fantastic New Zealand English, the aussies are learning it slowly as we take-over the lucky country. French is also another language that I was fluent in, but not soo much as I have not lived there for a efw years. Tiem to go back and soak up some of the atmosphere.

 

[myinnerslut]

I don't see how it is less one than "Cherokee" - we took care of that, too.
As long as anti-Semitism is alive and well, I don't think I can happily lump myself in with the Swedes here, much as I like 'em.

i can see why you say that, but i personally disagree.

in elementary school we got a handout with a map of the world. on the top it said "what nationality are you" followed by a list, german, french, russian, jewish, english, etc etc etc.. i looked on the map and i saw germany, i saw france, i saw russia, and i saw england, i could not find a country called jew. its been bothering me ever since.

 

[Netzach]

i can see why you say that, but i personally disagree.

in elementary school we got a handout with a map of the world. on the top it said "what nationality are you" followed by a list, german, french, russian, jewish, english, etc etc etc.. i looked on the map and i saw germany, i saw france, i saw russia, and i saw england, i could not find a country called jew. its been bothering me ever since.

It is an icky proposition, I grant. Say "screw you, they were poles" or admit that they really were not and thus find yourself agreeing with your exterminators. Neither option's that hot.

The reason for that is that people had this tendency to kill us rather than assimilate us. To the point where a lot of us are kind of itchier than a lot of other people around the idea of assimilation itself, it's kind of a possible bait/switch that gets pulled on people, other people more so, but I think we "get" that there's possibly poison in the bait.

 

[graceanne]

I know that my family differentiates. We're part German Jew and part regular German, or whatever. I'm not sure what the dominate religion in Germany is (Catholic?). I'm sure as the Jews were being killed by the Germans they didn't consider themselves to be part of the Christian Germans.

 

[graceanne]

Wow so many people seem to have Cherokee blood! Thats so cool. Id love to meet a real Native American Indian someday. Or someone descended from.

My heart child is either half or 1/4 Black Foot. Her mom can't remember if the donor said he was half or full blooded black foot. You can see it in her. She's got almost black eyes and GORGEOUS gold skin. Drives her mom up the wall - her mom burns if she peeks at the sun and her mom wants to be as gold as K is naturally. I swear, you put K out in the sun for a half a second and she has a tan line. LOL

Funny story - she started asking questions about the donor when she was 3. I only know bits and pieces, but I did know about him being black foot, so I told her she was part Indian. She went around for FOREVER telling people I said she was an alien. took me awhile to put it together, but she was struggling to pronounce Indian. LOL

 

[rida]

.......
Funny story - she started asking questions about the donor when she was 3. I only know bits and pieces, but I did know about him being black foot, so I told her she was part Indian. She went around for FOREVER telling people I said she was an alien. took me awhile to put it together, but she was struggling to pronounce Indian. LOL

LOLOL!

Sorry ... that just sooo cute!

And actually, now that I think of it ... next time I get asked what me or Hubby or the kidlets are , I should just answer "Aliens" as we do have an "Alien Registration Card"


ETA: beside Alien ... I'm Japanese and north Italian; Hubby is German/Irish and Sicilian; The kidlets ... all of the previous

 

[intothewoods]

The Poles and Russians would have begged to differ on my forebears being Poles or Russians.
I don't see how it is less one than "Cherokee" - we took care of that, too.
As long as anti-Semitism is alive and well, I don't think I can happily lump myself in with the Swedes here, much as I like 'em.

I totally agree, as you can probably guess, Netz. I don't have much ethnically in common with Austrian non-Jews, even though my ancestors lived there for a time.