For Ethnic Second Generation Children

[DeathsMercy]

I was just wondering, why have many of us, at least in America, have no wish to learn the culture of our parents? Why do we let our native roots slip away, forgetting where we come from and what makes us unique? My mother taught me the my native language which is Spanish, or Espanol, and I'm proud to be able to speak both languages fluently and with such mastery that its almost impossible to differintiate whether I was born in America or not. I'm proud of my Spanish and Cuban roots, but many of my friends, Italians, Greeks, Hispanics, can't even understand their native tounge. They have lost the language and don't care about it in the least. How can let something that is part of your history slip and not even try to fight for it? Please tell me your ideas and comments...

Thank you for your time,

DeathsMercy.

[Komfort]

I'd like to learn my roots but all I've learned from being a Mexican is that, 1) Women are lesser then men, 2) Women COOK FOR ALL the men in the family/group 3) Men and women are seperated, and 4) If you don't speak Spanish, you are an outcast and they will talk about you and point to you and laugh at you and you will know nothing of what is going on.

I've learn a lot more from my English roots then I have from my Mexican roots and it's not because I haven't tried, I have but I have no one that will teach me of my Mexican roots.

[TickleMeBreathless]

I have a huge mix of roots, so it's pretty hard to pick one to start with. My two major backgrounds are Germany and Ireland. ^^ I'm not so fond of the German language/culture, but I'm slowly getting into the history and beauty of Ireland.

However, I'm so busy right now with other languages [Japanese/Serbian] that I can't really fit in another one. :[ Yet.

[amiko-kun]

Eh, I've learned about most of my cultores and are relatively fluent in a few of them, Spanish, french, Dutch, english(der), and japanese. It honestly depends on who you speak too, enviornments change a person too

[DeathsMercy]

That is a delimea, my father who was Spanish or Castillan (which means from Spain) died. My mother, who is Cuban has taught me the spanish that she learned in her home country and about the rich heritage and traditions of her era. But she could never help me with the traditions and heritage of my father so I decided to do a search. Through wikipedia and other sites I learn quite a bit of where the langauge originates and some of the traditions that they celebrate. So in other words, sometimes you just need to look into things to get the help needed.

Have you had your parents try to teach you spanish? It's a difficult language that even people from Hispanic countries can't even properly speak it.

[DeathsMercy]

It's great to meet another person that loves languages and culture such as I do. I have this strange hobby, learning as many of the Roman languages as I possibly can. Right now I'm fluent in Spanish and English. I'm a novice in Italian and Latin but I'm pretty advance for a first year student, or at least that's what my teacher tells me.

[247 LoFi HipHop Radio]

We're not obligated to. That's what books are for.

[gogogo reeed]

My parents are Indian (Punjabi) and I've learned how to speak Punjabi quite fluently. I still can't read or write it but I do plan to learn. Beyond that I'm not wholly related with my culture though, besides the Indian food. ._.;

[DeathsMercy]

Yes, that's what books are for, but if no one has an interest in their roots then those books are useless. Oral tradition, as well as literature is important and should be persuded. If you depend on a book telling you everything you need to know then you are sadly mistaken. Most things get lost through time and certian secrets get passed on to the next generation. But if the next generatio isn't willing to take hold of the torch then precious information is lost and no book will have that. No book.... So in a way we are obligated to, so we can keep on passing that torch of knowlegde to the next generation. So they know about who they are and where they come from.

[fer sure]

I'm actually very in touch with my roots.
My dad is from Azerbaijan, and my mom is from Ukraine.
But both of them grew up speaking Russian, as did I.
I'm fluent, but have a horrible accent.

[DeathsMercy]

Lol, accent is always a problem with learning a language. My mother says I don't have an American accent but I don't have a Spanish language. I'm a phenomenon. ^.^ At least I'm not the only one!!

[frozenclockwork]

I'm proud of my culture, and I know the history, how to read/write/speak Russian fluently, and I have no accent when speaking English. And I'm 15. : D

'Course, I was born in Russia, but still. :/

[247 LoFi HipHop Radio]

DeathsMercy

Yes, that's what books are for, but if no one has an interest in their roots then those books are useless. Oral tradition, as well as literature is important and should be persuded. If you depend on a book telling you everything you need to know then you are sadly mistaken. Most things get lost through time and certian secrets get passed on to the next generation. But if the next generatio isn't willing to take hold of the torch then precious information is lost and no book will have that. No book.... So in a way we are obligated to, so we can keep on passing that torch of knowlegde to the next generation. So they know about who they are and where they come from.

I"m just saying that we aren't obligated to. Of course there are plenty of others interested and connected with their original culture. Where else do these books come from besides those interested in culture?
You just make it seem as though the children of our generation are all obligated to be connected with our parent's and our own culture.
I can't like my own at all.

[Hana Maehata]

I'd like to get to know my background. It'd be nice to know about Ireland and Germany.

But if there's no other reason to learn German, it's to be able to actually talk to my family on my mom's side! D: They all speak German, and I don't speak a bit.

[DeathsMercy]

IIlysium

DeathsMercy

Yes, that's what books are for, but if no one has an interest in their roots then those books are useless. Oral tradition, as well as literature is important and should be persuded. If you depend on a book telling you everything you need to know then you are sadly mistaken. Most things get lost through time and certian secrets get passed on to the next generation. But if the next generatio isn't willing to take hold of the torch then precious information is lost and no book will have that. No book.... So in a way we are obligated to, so we can keep on passing that torch of knowlegde to the next generation. So they know about who they are and where they come from.

I"m just saying that we aren't obligated to. Of course there are plenty of others interested and connected with their original culture. Where else do these books come from besides those interested in culture?
You just make it seem as though the children of our generation are all obligated to be connected with our parent's and our own culture.
I can't like my own at all.

Forgive me if I seemed a bit pushy, all I meant to say was that passing the traditions to the next generation is important, to me at least. For instance, my younger brother is very intelligent but doesn't know anything about his origin, he doesn't want to master the native language, or he doesn't seem to be in the least bit interested. It makes me think, what will become of his children? If he doesn't know the basics, how in the world will he pass it on to his children? I believe that all children are interested in their culture, or at least some moment in their lives they'll wonder where exactly they came from and its wonderful if a parent can share their history. Also, tradition and language are ways of teaching children useful skills and increasing understanding of the world. Maybe that's just me... but that's how I feel.