A bit of the sublime, a whole lot of ridiculous.
We call it Czechlish - the blend of Czech and English that my Papa speaks in certain company.
Papa grew up bilingual. His dad was an immigrant, his mom was American-born but spoke more Czech than English for some reason. (Well, being stubborn does run in the family...)
To hear Czechlish is kind of rare nowadays. When GreatPapa was alive, he and Papa would hold conversations peppered with words that my mom knew and would translate to me.
Today, a great aunt and uncle came to visit Papa while Mom was over with him. Mom was proud of herself that she could pick up the occasional Czech word and know what they were talking about. I think Papa was surprised she knew after all these years. And in Uncle Louis' case, a bit of German was thrown in. (I think his in-laws are from there.)
It just kind of saddens me (and sheesh, like I need the help today) that Czechlish is, in essence, an endangered dialect.
Perhaps I can talk Papa into teaching me a bit. If for no other reason than I can mutter my true feelings out loud without people really knowing what I'm talking about. (Although, in a part of the state where a good half of the population can claim some Czech blood, I run the risk of being found out.) Because now, the only word I know from the Old Country is an obscenity.
And it'll keep Mom on her toes, too.
I'm dropping off some meatloaf tomorrow - if I have time before work, I'll bring it up then.
__________________________________
Purple Rain is on.
Talk about your well-choreographed trainwrecks. The soundtrack is awesomely reminiscent of what I remember of the 80's, but the acting is so. bad.
In other news, Prince is so wee and moist and shirtless.
Papa grew up bilingual. His dad was an immigrant, his mom was American-born but spoke more Czech than English for some reason. (Well, being stubborn does run in the family...)
To hear Czechlish is kind of rare nowadays. When GreatPapa was alive, he and Papa would hold conversations peppered with words that my mom knew and would translate to me.
Today, a great aunt and uncle came to visit Papa while Mom was over with him. Mom was proud of herself that she could pick up the occasional Czech word and know what they were talking about. I think Papa was surprised she knew after all these years. And in Uncle Louis' case, a bit of German was thrown in. (I think his in-laws are from there.)
It just kind of saddens me (and sheesh, like I need the help today) that Czechlish is, in essence, an endangered dialect.
Perhaps I can talk Papa into teaching me a bit. If for no other reason than I can mutter my true feelings out loud without people really knowing what I'm talking about. (Although, in a part of the state where a good half of the population can claim some Czech blood, I run the risk of being found out.) Because now, the only word I know from the Old Country is an obscenity.
And it'll keep Mom on her toes, too.
I'm dropping off some meatloaf tomorrow - if I have time before work, I'll bring it up then.
__________________________________
Purple Rain is on.
Talk about your well-choreographed trainwrecks. The soundtrack is awesomely reminiscent of what I remember of the 80's, but the acting is so. bad.
In other news, Prince is so wee and moist and shirtless.