LL-L "Travels" 2007.06.25 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  25 June 2007 - Volume 02

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From: Ronald Veenker < veenker at atmc.net>
Subject: LL-L "Travels" 2007.06.24 (04) [E]

Dear Paul and Ron,

I was just pondering Ron's response and it brought to mind the
experience I had in the late 60s while teaching at the University of
Miami (FL).  So very many of my students who spoke English with a
hispanic accent had German or other European family names.  I remember
trying to call the role one day and saw this Polish(?) name with the
first initial "J."  I paused hoping the pronunciation would come to me
when the fellow himself responded from the back room with the name.  I
asked then what the "J" stood for and he said, "Jose" with a distinct
hispanic flavor.  I was amazed.  Just now when I tried to recall the
spelling of his name, I "googled" my guess and found the very person
himself having attained great academic stature in his own Wikipedia
entry:

José Szapocznik

 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

José Szapocznik, Ph.D., (born in Havana, Cuba), is a clinical
psychologist and one of the nation's leading family therapists
specializing in Hispanic families. He is the developer of One-Person
Family Therapy and Brief Structural Therapy. He is a leading scholar on
Hispanic psychology.

He is director of the Center for Family Studies CFS at the University
of Miami, where he has been inducted into the Iron Arrow Honor Society,
the highest honor awarded at the university. He has authored numerous
scientific publications and has received numerous awards for his work
on behalf of Hispanic families.

Ron Veenker
Ex-professor of Religion
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
veenker at atmc.net

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Travels

Hi, Ronald!

Those name combos don't seem all that surprising to me personally.  After
all, there used to be large-scale German and Polish migration to Latin
America as well, and pre-revolution Cuba used to be a mecca for people from
all over. I've come across lots of people with German, Polish and Ashkenazi
Jewish last names that had Spanish or Portuguese first names.

What I personally find more intriguing is that I come across so many
American Aboriginal people with German last names.  My theory is that this
is due to German immigrants (1) having been ostracized a lot and sought the
company of other ostracized people, and that (2) they came with positive
prejudices regarding American Aboriginals due to German literature (by Karl
Mai, etc.) romanticizing them.

Regrds,
Reinhard/Ron
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