Sunday, January 1, 2012

First Generation American, should I feel embarred that I suck at speaking my parent's native language?

I know what you mean. My grandmother had been born in the Ukraine, then moved. Her parents spoke almost ONLY Ukrainian, but Gram also had to deal with people who didn't speak it, so though she had first learned Uke, she had to learn something else to live here. She taught my mother a lot of Uke, but Mom was also surrounded by people who knew none, and since Gram had learned some English, she could teach some, too. Mom knows little Uke now. When _I_ grew up, if Gram hadn't lived with us, I wouldn't know a WORD of Uke. Mom KNOWS some, but she never USES it. Now, after Gram's been dead for so many years, I haven't practiced anything and I can remember maybe TWO words.

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