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Language & Identity | ||
Tags: Cultural Identity | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| Captain Haddock Diglot Senior Member Japan kanjicabinet.tumblr. Joined 6772 days ago 2282 posts - 2814 votes  Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, Korean, Ancient Greek | Message 17 of 25 20 February 2010 at 5:18am | IP Logged | |||||
True indeed. I know a great many Brazilians, many of whose parents or grandparents moved there from Italy, Germany, various Spanish-speaking countries, Japan, or the Ukraine, but they all speak (only) Portuguese and are 100% Brazilian. So long as you speak Portuguese, you are one of them. Edited by Captain Haddock on 20 February 2010 at 5:18am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| FinnDevil Triglot Newbie Finland Joined 5396 days ago 7 posts - 15 votes Speaks: Finnish*, English, Swedish | Message 18 of 25 20 February 2010 at 11:19pm | IP Logged | |||||
I've read that because the first immigrants to America came from Anglo-Saxon and Germanic Protestant countries, they defined America as a country for white Protestant people. Later, the next wave of immigrants came from non-Protestant or non-white countries. Those people (Irish, Italians,Chinese etc.) encountered racism in the U.S. So they had to rely on their own people and culture, because the mainstream culture was hostile towards them. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| ManicGenius Senior Member United States Joined 5485 days ago 288 posts - 420 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, French, Japanese | Message 19 of 25 05 March 2010 at 10:54pm | IP Logged | |||||
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This might be a wholly American phenomenon. Most people I've asked this question to outside of the US have responded with a very direct "What the hell are you talking about?"
A lot of Americans refer to heritage as nationality because we hold onto our traditions that were passed down. I love finding out where someones family came from years ago and about their familial traditions. It's just facinating to me. But being American is completely different than having Italian heritage. Me for example, my family came from Austria and Germany in 1690, and part of my family is Native American. So for all intensive purposes, I am about as AMERICAN I can be purely by heritage. Yet, I still identify myself as German/Austrian. America is "melting-pot nation", yet were are a very individualistic nation. We pride the individual over the whole, and as such we look towards things that make us different and unique to stand out. (self-importance maybe?) Heritage is just one of those things, and as such is my opinion. That and I just love my Great Uncle Klaus' beer recipes :-) 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5339 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 20 of 25 23 June 2010 at 9:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
It's fascinating to me as well. I love reading biography's of famous Americans on wikipedia because they almost always state their ancestry and where their parents/grandparents were from and for some reason I just find this incredibly interesting and fun to know. I also love how in certain ethnic communities in America, especially the Irish and Italian ones, there is this really strong sense of belonging to this group and connection to a country where many of them have probably never even been. As for myself, I was born and raised in the Netherlands like my parents and their parents before them so the question of ethnicy vs. nationality has always been simple for me: I'm Dutch. ;-) I'm 1/8 Frisian and a little German, French and Jewish as well but I've never really identified with any of these. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ManicGenius Senior Member United States Joined 5485 days ago 288 posts - 420 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, French, Japanese | Message 21 of 25 23 June 2010 at 10:33pm | IP Logged | |||||
Depending on where you are there aren't really communities anymore. My area was largely Italian, Irish and Polish immigrants up until 1950, where there were actual neighborhoods. Then they all sort of merged within 40 years apparently, and now you don't get that. However lately you now find Bosnian, Kenyan, Vietnamese and Indian districts in their stead. All tend to stick to their own groups like the Irish, Italians and Poles once did. I have the utmost certainty that they'll meld just like everyone else. That is America. Fun part is now you get restaurants that cater to the immigrants, so you get awesome varieties of food and can experience their languages. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5339 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 22 of 25 23 June 2010 at 10:43pm | IP Logged | |||||
Thanks for the update. I've never actually been to the US so my impressions of the culture all derive from the media, especially films. I mentioned the Irish and Italian communities because I was thinking about films like The Godfather and The Departed. ;-) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ManicGenius Senior Member United States Joined 5485 days ago 288 posts - 420 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, French, Japanese | Message 23 of 25 23 June 2010 at 11:08pm | IP Logged | |||||
Some itai's can be pretty stereotypical. Incorrectly pronouncing Italian words. Getting impression from the media is usually a bad thing considering if I used that on your nation, you'd all be hippies smoking large vast amounts of cannabis, or running windmills. Talking to actual people paints a hugely different picture. Or just enhances your preconceptions depending on who you talked to in the first place. People are fascinating. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5339 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 24 of 25 24 June 2010 at 10:37am | IP Logged | |||||
I know you shouldn't always believe the media and I was half-joking when I wrote my post (Hence the smiley-face). If I truly based my impression of Americans on what I heard in the media of my own country I'm sure it would be very different and a lot more one-dimensional. I've seen American films and TV shows that feature 'Dutch' people and segments of The O'Reilly Show so I know how the Netherlands and the Dutch are often portrayed in the American media. Honestly, it all kind of amuses me. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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