hyphenated; was Re: Re: Hyphenated Americans

[Sally O. Donlon]

Perhaps because I hang out with sociologists and folklorists as a
matter of course, I find the hyphenation very prevalent as a prideful
self-referent.

You see kids learning the languages, as well as the arts and crafts,
that define their ancestry.

For instance, I explain that my Irish-American aunt married a
Polish-American gentlemen so that I now have all these Polish-American
cousins running around who identify much more strongly with their
Polish heritage than with the Irish. So much so that they were
good-naturedly peeved with me that I visited Poland before any of them
did!

My sense is that this sort of self-reference has grown along with the
whole focus on multi-culturalism and the realization of the strengths
that cultural diversity brings to our country.

sally