# Do You Speak The Language Of Your Ancestors ?



## Dudleyville (Mar 25, 2007)

This question is for posters who draw their ancestry (or atleast partially) back to a non English speaking country. I only know a few words in Italian, not enough to have a full blown conversation so that would be no for me.


----------



## nightmahr (Jan 2, 2008)

I would need French, Sicilian, Polish, Irish, and something I'm not sure of but probably Ojibwe.

I know some French and some German, and that counts a bit since my Sicilian ancestors actually came from Germany first.


----------



## Tungsten (Dec 11, 2005)

I only know a few words of Greek, mostly curse words and phrases that my grandmother used to repeat constatntly in her later years when she was deep in the clutches of alzheimer's.


----------



## sprinter (Nov 22, 2003)

No I don't speak it but I'm in the process of learning Polish with the free Before you know it software. Which is a great free language program if only they didn't constantly pester you to buy the full version which I will eventually but I'd like to finish the free version first.


----------



## LarryM (Jan 15, 2008)

I know very little gealic
Pogmathoin = Kiss my asp :lol


----------



## ericj (Jun 20, 2007)

No, just the random word here-and-there.


----------



## Dudleyville (Mar 25, 2007)

What language would that be ?


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

No, but then my ancestors have been in the US since the 19th century.

I can count to ten in German and recall a few other German words after two years of that class in high school. That was a real waste of time. 18 years later and I've still never met a German who doesn't speak perfect English in America. (I even spanked a German citizen once -- off topic, but worth mentioning as that's a true rarity and she spoke perfect English.)

Spanish would seem more useful with our 10 million+ illegals, plus legal immigrants. If you want cheap labor it helps if you can give them directions in their native language.


----------



## russophile1977 (Jan 16, 2006)

I've studied German and Irish but only briefly so I can't speak either of them.


----------



## Kelly (Dec 12, 2003)

I know about ten words in Polish.

I'm part German and I know German, but I still voted "no" since I'm half Polish and only a little German. I'm also part English, but I still voted "no." In order for me to vote "yes" in this poll, I'd have to know English, German and nine other languages.

Have a nice day,
Kelly


----------



## Laura (Nov 12, 2003)

...


----------



## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

My family is mostly French, German, Irish and Scottish. They've been in the US forever though, since at least the 1800s. But no, I can't speak any of their languages aside from English.


----------



## Dudleyville (Mar 25, 2007)

Despite over 50 million Americans being of German descent, it's rare to find a person on the streets that speaks German because most have long been culturally assimilated. I have met more people in this country who speak Tagalog than I have people who speak German even though only 4 million Americans draw their ancestry back to the Philippines.


----------



## WineKitty (Nov 26, 2004)

Nope. I know very little Spanish though I have always wanted to learn. My paternal grandparents were both born in Mexico and spoke Spanish. My father was born in the States and they never taught him Spanish. 

My maternal grandparents were Irish but I dont believe that they spoke Irish. I think my maternal ancestors have been in the States for several generations.


----------



## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

I overheard Amish people speaking German (Pennsylvania dutch) on Amtrak which is remarkable given the fact that they have been here hundreds of years.

The Amish and some mennonites still speak it. My grandma knows a little bit. A lot more people spoke it when she was a girl, not just amish and mennonites but mainstream PA dutch people.


----------



## Mc Borg (Jan 4, 2008)

I'm sure most of my ancestors spoke spanish, I don't speak a word of it though.


----------



## Dudleyville (Mar 25, 2007)

Another surprising thing is that with over 50 million Americans drawing their ancestry back to Germany you would think that Oktoberfest in this country would be as equally popular if not more popular than St.Patrick's Day but it's not. Not by a longshot.


----------



## ericj (Jun 20, 2007)

I don't drink beer, so Oktoberfest is not really that interesting to me. I wear orange on St. Patrick's day in a quiet protest, because my Irish ancestors were not the poor famine-fleeing type. The main obvious link to my ancestors that you might notice are a few items made out of my clan tartan and a crest badge.


----------



## Eraserhead (Sep 23, 2006)

I speak Bulgarian. Some of my ancestors probably spoke other languages from the Balkans. Still, I answered yes.


----------



## Dudleyville (Mar 25, 2007)

I have never met a Bulgarian before. Is there a sizeable number in Canada ?


----------



## Eraserhead (Sep 23, 2006)

Dudleyville said:


> I have never met a Bulgarian before. Is there a sizeable number in Canada ?


Not that many (some 15,000 according to Wikipedia), though every big city has some kind of Bulgarian community. Many more immigrated to the US. The immigrant trend has been dangerously fast, actually. Bulgaria's population has plummeted since 1990.


----------



## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Nem (no in Hungarian).

I do speak Spanish, though .


----------



## odd_boi_out (Feb 11, 2008)

My dad is from Lebanon. I used to be fluent in Arabic when I was a little kid, but I've forgotten it all, so now I only know a few words and can follow along with only the most basic conversations. It's kind of sad, really.


----------



## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

I speak french and english, so i guess i do.


----------



## OnyxHeart (Jun 13, 2005)

Both my parents are Italian, and I've spent part of my life in Italy, so yes. However, some of my ancestors were French and others Croatian. I don't speak a word of either


----------



## Wingclipped (Nov 13, 2007)

x


----------



## anxiousgirl (Sep 3, 2007)

American English is my second language. I still speak my native language with my mother.


----------



## Dudleyville (Mar 25, 2007)

What is your native language ?


----------



## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

Dudleyville said:


> Another surprising thing is that with over 50 million Americans drawing their ancestry back to Germany you would think that Oktoberfest in this country would be as equally popular if not more popular than St.Patrick's Day but it's not. Not by a longshot.


In my city Oktoberfest is much, much larger than St. Patrick's Day. Of course, this city used to be called Berlin, so that might give you a clue as to why.


----------



## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

yep. im first generation mexican american!!!!!


----------



## sean88 (Apr 29, 2006)

I speak English, but now I need to learn Gaelic and Old English (the proper kind.) Eheh.


----------



## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

Only Spanish. Which ought to satisfy my ancestors from Spain.

To speak all the languages of my ancestors would include a Native Salvadorean dialect (probably Nahua), Portugese, Italian, Hebrew, Farsi, Greek and Arabic.


----------



## Dudleyville (Mar 25, 2007)

With all of that racial mixture, it would be interesting to see what you look like. What are you mostly confused for ?


----------



## ANCIENT (Aug 9, 2005)

nubly said:


> yep. im first generation mexican american!!!!!


i never thought you where mexican.

yes. i speak spanish.


----------



## endtroducing (Jan 6, 2008)

Yes and no. I speak Vietnamese, but not Chinese. Chose yes for the poll though. ;D


----------



## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

ancient master said:


> nubly said:
> 
> 
> > yep. im first generation mexican american!!!!!
> ...


yea my entire family are fair skinned. except for an aunt which i suspect my grandmother must have cheated on my grandfather because she looks mestiza and the rest of us look white


----------



## Dudleyville (Mar 25, 2007)

How often do people say you don't look Mexican ?


----------



## FreeSoul (Jan 1, 2006)

No. I probably wouldn't even know where to begin with that.


----------



## anxiousgirl (Sep 3, 2007)

Dudleyville, it's Greek.


----------



## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

Dudleyville said:


> How often do people say you don't look Mexican ?


i dont know. most people get surprised when i tell them im mexican though. not sure what to make of that


----------



## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

Im mexican american and I dont speak spanish i only understand the spanish language but I dont speak it...One time i went to a mexican grocery store and spoke english it was awkward..


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

I took a semester of Swedish in college, but I retained virtually none of it. So, no.


----------



## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

No, I do not speak French, German, and whatever else is mixed in there. My dad's mom was from Quebec and didn't move to the US till she was 8 years old or so but she never taught my dad French. At the time speaking foreign languages was discouraged. I saw one of her letters to my parents congratulating them on my birth and it's clear that her English was not native. She made a couple mistakes that natives would never make. German ancestors came to the US many generations ago so I think only my great-great grandparents (or great-great-great) spoke German.

I am probably 40% British (coming from both sides), so I do speak one language of my ancestors. My last name and my mom's maiden name are English/Welsh names.

Don't have much interest in learning French or German. Pronunciation is too difficult and the cultures don't appeal to me much at all. I can speak Japanese and I know a good amount of Spanish and Portuguese.


----------



## Octal (Aug 2, 2011)

Yes I do, but it's easy for me because I have to speak it with my parents all the time.


----------



## KYJE (Aug 11, 2012)

I wish I did. I look up Dutch and Latvian videos on Youtube from time to time and it makes me sad that I don't know either language. Even though I'd have no one to speak them with, it's something that I would love to have with me.


----------



## Marlon (Jun 27, 2011)

No but I wish I was. My mom is from the Philippines and I've picked up so many Tagalog words since a baby that I can understand at least 50% of the conversation. Now I'm studying the language so I can speak it.


----------



## TobeyJuarez (May 16, 2012)

nope


----------



## pbandjam (Sep 24, 2011)

Yes I do. We moved here when I was in Elementary school but I still speak my native language (from India) everyday with my parents.


----------



## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

No, though I do want to learn the Cherokee language, and Irish Gaelic. I am half Irish half Cherokee.


----------



## BeyondOsiris (Nov 2, 2012)

I have ancestors that spoke German and the language of the Blackfoot Indian tribe (don't know what language that is), and I don't speak either so no. Really want to learn German though.


----------



## basuraeuropea (Jul 25, 2012)

si, parlo català i castellà.


----------



## Unknown88 (Aug 21, 2012)

I have no idea where my heritage goes, some sort of Scandinavian if you go way back apparently. Seeing as I am learning Danish it might count, although the reason I am learning it is purely because I live in Denmark.


----------



## Xenos (Jun 24, 2012)

My ancestors spoke Proto-Indo-European. I don't.


----------



## Patriot (Oct 14, 2011)

I'm chinese american/swedish. I speak Swedish and English fluently but no chinese except for a couple of words. I plan on learning chinese in the future, though.


----------



## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

0 words of Irish and 1 word of German.

Of course if you go back far enough nobody speaks what their ancestors spoke.


----------



## kilgoretrout (Jul 20, 2011)

No. Don't care enough to learn it.


----------



## Alas Babylon (Aug 28, 2012)

I'm pretty fluent in Proto-Indo-European


----------



## basuraeuropea (Jul 25, 2012)

Paradox Frog said:


> I'm pretty fluent in Proto-Indo-European


lol!


----------



## Post_Punk_Proclivity (Oct 12, 2008)

I think Gaelic is mostly redundant now and I don't speak any Italian apart from one sentence which I still remember: 'Ho appena communiciato a studiare, quindi parlo solo molto poco.'

Very handy sentence especially when you know basically nothing else lol

I do study Swedish though and have learned a little. I also remember a lot of random Japanese stuff from HS, although I quit with that.


----------



## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

I started taking Ancient Greek classes a month or so ago. I want to see the world through the eyes of my ancestors, and I believe I have a better chance than most logico calculator- processing heads.


----------



## mistylake (Apr 24, 2012)

No. I'm of italian descent but I can't speak italian, except for a few words/sentences. I do understand a lot of it though.


----------



## BrookeHannigan (Mar 29, 2012)

im estonian so yeah I speak estonian
my father is from spain I dont speak spanish cause I dont want to
I have a russian grandmother and I speak fluently russian VODKA
no my chinese is even better than my russian and I never even studied chinese,
due to my dad we lived in many different countries japan for longest
so I can speak japanese somewhat(0% japenese though) cause I had many friends there(I know shock)
I also learned some indonesian(also 0%) phrases during my time indonesia such awesome people...
I also heard about us having like a VERY(1.000.000 times) far italian and iranian anscestor(never comfirmed though)
but have no desire to learn persian or italian.
oh and english ofcourse...yay...(0% english as well)
so I speak more languages from my non heritage countries
end of story


----------



## Awkto Awktavious (May 11, 2011)

Yes. Very poorly though.
I watched alot of movies and TV shows, which helped.


----------



## Mourn4UrSelf (Nov 2, 2012)

Yes, I speak polish fluently because that's where my parents are from.

I also spend every summer in Poland so I kinda need to know how to speak it.


----------



## TheAzn (Jan 13, 2012)

I can speak English and Thai.


----------



## Mlochail (Jul 11, 2012)

That would be... Old Dutch and Old Ukrainian/Russian. 

KURVA!! YA NE GOVORYU PO UKRAINSKIJ ILI RUSSKIJ!!!

Hic cen juss nx ven dei ouue nederlandse toale kalle LOOOOOOOL WIN


----------



## frank81 (Dec 1, 2011)

Not sure yes or no. I'm a Chinese of Hakka ethnic heritage. I do speak Hakka moderately but not the dialect of my ancestors due to the numerous variants available.
I also speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese & Malay (which is the national language of my country, Malaysia).


----------



## Marakunda (Jun 7, 2011)

I'm from German and Native American descent. My Grandmother speaks some Native language, I think it's the Ojibway language maybe? So I'm familiar with how it sounds sort of. But no, the only language I speak fluently is English.

Unfortunately.


----------



## straightarrows (Jun 18, 2010)

I"m mixed race,,, so I can say Yes


----------

