Life / How do Poles view Polish-Americans? [8]

please dot listen to matowy, he seems bitter for some strange and random reason. honestly, if you are 2nd generation polish american and dont speak polish, you will be seen as american. but don't let that stop you! and you DON'T need months and months of study of the polish language to go. Most people speak english in some capacity. Poles in Poles are very fond of and very friendly towards americans and when you tell them you're of polish heritage and that you're interested in Poland they'll fall in love with you. (I've noticed Poles in Poland are a little insecure about Poland... don't know why but thats my observation, so if you show specific interest in Poland, they'll be absolutely charmed).

I speak Polish fluently and i've gone there almost every summer and we speak Polish at home and my parents definitely are Polish and i have a grasp of Polish history, literature, etc - and the last time I was in Poland for student exchange, they still saw me as (mostly) American. Even though we conversed in Polish!

but yeah, you should definitely go. They'll love you! And you'll love it! It will be awesome, I promise.

Life / Polish Kids - Polish speaking? Bilingual? only English? [56]

Well, YOU can speak Polish to them you know... That's really the only reason I know Polish: because my parents spoke it to each other and to my brother and me at home. Sure, I mixed in some English words here and there, but it's hard not to when you hear English all around you. But today, I speak Polish fluently and well, albeit with a accent. And I absolutely HATED it when my parents spoke English to me (which they did when they had company over, and out of respect for the non-Poles they would speak in English if they wanted something). But I couldn't stand my parents speaking English to me (yes, even in my rebellious teen years) because I felt like they were "putting on" something. It just didn't feel like my parents speaking to me. So if you cultivate an atmosphere at home where you only speak Polish, and you get your children to equate the Polish language with the close parent-child relationship, I think it will be easier for them to keep the Polish language.