German dialect in Texas is one of a kind, and dying out

[Gerald]

What knows Neal about this?

The first German settlers arrived in Texas over 150 years ago and successfully passed on their native language throughout the generations - until now.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22490560

Note: 15 May 2013 Last updated at 00:02 GMT

[Skybird]

"Die Kuh ist über die Fence gejumpt."



Pragmatism meets opportunism.

I recall an American tourist many years ago when I still worked in a shop, he wanted to have some alcoholic drinks (which were not offered in that shop), and asked me:

"Sie mich machen alcohol?"

[Stealhead]

I think that WWI and WWII are to blame for the disappearance of German being spoken in the United States more than anything it does not help that it generally speaking is expected in America that one assimilates which typically means the loss of ones "mother tongue" usually after only a few generations.

At one time German was the second most common language in the US.Which again is why I say that WWI and WWII are to blame for the disappearance.

For example some of my family originates from Germany from what I understand pre WWI it was very common to speak German publicly around other German speakers in German neighborhoods.WWI made this a bad idea so after that it would only be spoken at home and by WWII and even before the cultural model displayed by Germany was not exactly popular with all German-Americans so many choose not to speak German around strangers so as not to appear pro Nazi.

Many second and even first generation German Americans fought in WWI and this event would also change your identity and make you feel more strongly for your adopted nation.

If you look at most any ethnic group that has been in the US for a few generations the trend will be about the same.Very few Italian-Americans would be able to have a conversation with an Italian.Most Japanese Americans do not speak Japanese.Most people of Scandinavian decent can not speak Swedish,Norwegian or Danish.

Of course the United Sates is not unique in most nations your are expected to assimilate.

[nikimcbee]

Gehen Sie nach Pflugerville.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pflugerville,_Texas

[nikimcbee]

If you look at most any ethnic group that has been in the US for a few generations the trend will be about the same.Very few Italian-Americans would be able to have a conversation with an Italian.Most Japanese Americans do not speak Japanese.Most people of Scandinavian decent can not speak Swedish,Norwegian or Danish.

Then there's Mexico.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

Then there's Mexico.

That was my first thought on the matter

[Stealhead]

Mexico or Mexican-Americans? And if you are talking Mexican-Americans it depends on what group you are looking at and how long they have lived here if they and if they are long term or not.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

If you look at most any ethnic group that has been in the US for a few generations the trend will be about the same.Very few Italian-Americans would be able to have a conversation with an Italian.Most Japanese Americans do not speak Japanese.Most people of Scandinavian decent can not speak Swedish,Norwegian or Danish.

In my part of the country we have a large number of Mexican emigrants, so we hear a lot of Spanish (or Mexican Spanish, which is much like American English). I once had a question about a Spanish word, so I naturally asked a coworker whose last name was Guttierez. I was shocked when he said "Hey, man, I'm third generation. I don't speak that crap."

[GoldenRivet]

There were a lot of German Settlers in Central and West, Texas way back.

You can still see it in the names of several towns:







New Braunfels is even home to Schlitterbahn water park with obvious German heritage found in it's name.

Every September there are always a few friends invite me to some sort of authentic Oktoberfest party - which ends up being more of a small carnival with lots of different craft beers (not your college dorm octoberfest held in mid october where they spend hours sampling bud lite and miller lite lol)

yes, a lot of the German vanished after the entry into WW2...

names like Schmidt and Braun were changed to Smith or Brown.

Others kept the heritage alive, and some of those cities still have german folk festivals city wide as far as im aware.

its pretty neat if you get the chance to make it out to one.

[BrucePartington]

I lived and studied in Pittsburgh, PA, between 91 and 93. I really tried hard to loose the accent, (learning foreign languages is easy for me, btw). Having been a foreigner myself, my view is that because I loved being there, I really tried to blend in. How I did it was through try and properly speaking the language (down to local slang: "yinz" Pittsburghers buy "pop" instead of "soda"). The way I see it, language is how you achieve that, since it is the main means of interacting and being socially accepted. First generations start to forget their native language after a few years if they don't live in a community that speaks it.
If you like where you live and are not planning on going back, why try to keep the native language? Why even bother teaching it to second generation? Your descendants need to blend in and be accepted locally if they are to prosper.

Side note: I would be mad if one day I called some institution in my country and I had to "press 1" for the native language. You move to another country, you adapt and learn the language, not the other way around. You are a guest, not a host.

[vienna]

BrucePartington, eh? Does this mean you have plans?...

<O>

[Sailor Steve]

Already been done, back when he introduced himself. You need to get out more.

And stop stealing my material!
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=204112

[vienna]

Already been done, back when he introduced himself. You need to get out more.

And stop stealing my material!
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=204112

Sorry about that, Steve, I missed it the first time around...

And, if I'm going to steal (even if inadvertently), I should steal from the best...

<O>

[Sailor Steve]

LOL.

I recognize the fact that those few of us who actually know the material might come to the same conclusions. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by BrucePartington

Why even bother teaching it to second generation? Your descendants need to blend in and be accepted locally if they are to prosper.

You can raise kids bilingual. They learn the language of their parents home country and the local one. That's usually not a problem, I've seen it being done here a few times. A foreign language is always a good thing to have and can even open you doors on the job market (and makes some holiday trips so much easier). So I'm all for teaching your kids your native language IF you teach them the local one as well.

Side note: I would be mad if one day I called some institution in my country and I had to "press 1" for the native language. You move to another country, you adapt and learn the language, not the other way around. You are a guest, not a host.

Amen to that. I always get pissed when I see third generation people here who don't speak the language properly....