Ukrainian/Polish speakers in Parma (Cleveland, Akron: neighborhood, college, shops)

[PA Yankee]

Hello all,

I visited Parma for the first time in a while and noticed that the Ukrainian and Polish Village areas were more visible than they were previously (could just be my perception). I was curious to know if there are still many speakers of these languages here. My family origins are in Eastern Europe and I feel that learning one or two of these languages would help me get in touch with my roots better. Having people around to practice with would be very helpful.

If languages such as Russian, Serbian, or German are in use I'd like to know too.

Thank you all in advance

[bjimmy24]

Parma has mostly Ukrainians as far as Slavs go. Slavic Village used to be a stronghold for Poles, but now they've dispearsed throughout the area. But there still are some in Slavic Village and if you go to St. Stan's on Sunday at 10:30, you'll find only Polish speakers. Most of them are kinda old-ish though. I doubt there are many in Parma, at least that still speak Polish, mostly because that immigration was a while ago now. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a lot of Slavs from the CIS made their way here, hence the Ukrainians in Parma and the Russians in Mayfield Heights (though there are also Russians in Parma and Ukrainians in Mayfield too). Cleveland Heights is also kinda dotted with Russians in some spots. For German, their might be some isolated people that are from Germany, but there isn't really a German community. The whole German thing really fell out of style after tha Nazi thing.

As a Russian speaker myself, I can tell you that the Slavic languages can be challenging for a native English speaker, but learning one can open up a very interesting part of the world to you. Also, if you can speak one Slavic language, it becomes easier to learn others. If you just want to learn a Slavic language, I suggest Russian, since it has the most speakers in this country and worldwide. But if you want to get in touch with your roots, you should go with your own background's language. For example, if you are Polish, you should learn Polish because, while both Slavs, the cultures and traditions of places like Russia-Poland can be very different. Even the closest of brothers in the Slavic realm, Russians and Ukrainians, still get upset if you confuse the two.

[foreverdublin21]

Hi there, if you're willing to pardon data from the year 2000, you might find this insightful:

For Parma: most spoken languages...
1. English (87.04%)
2. Ukrainian (2.26%)
3. Polish (1.69%)
4. Spanish (1.28%)
5. German (1.24%)
6. Italian (1.18)
7. Serbian (0.85%)

and Russian is quite a bit lower at 0.27%
Here's the link from where I found these percentages. Data Center Results

In terms of other languages you mentioned Russian, I'd say is probably more prevalent (or used to be) in South Euclid, Lyndhurst, Cleveland Heights, and Beachwood. Here's a cool article I found a while ago on Russian. cleveland.com:

As for German, I'd say Geauga County has the more German speakers (but a good number are Amish). Hope this helps...

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by foreverdublin21

Hi there, if you're willing to pardon data from the year 2000, you might find this insightful:

For Parma: most spoken languages...
1. English (87.04%)
2. Ukrainian (2.26%)
3. Polish (1.69%)
4. Spanish (1.28%)
5. German (1.24%)
6. Italian (1.18)
7. Serbian (0.85%)

and Russian is quite a bit lower at 0.27%
Here's the link from where I found these percentages. Data Center Results

In terms of other languages you mentioned Russian, I'd say is probably more prevalent (or used to be) in South Euclid, Lyndhurst, Cleveland Heights, and Beachwood. Here's a cool article I found a while ago on Russian. cleveland.com:

As for German, I'd say Geauga County has the more German speakers (but a good number are Amish). Hope this helps...

The Amish don't speak standard Germany German either.

[SquareBetterThanAll]

There is a tight knit Serbian (1st/2nd generation) community in the Cleveland-Akron metro. I wouldn't claim anywhere as a Serbian neighborhood per se but there are many who speak it as 1st language.

[ParmaResident715]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Parma has mostly Ukrainians as far as Slavs go. Slavic Village used to be a stronghold for Poles, but now they've dispearsed throughout the area. But there still are some in Slavic Village and if you go to St. Stan's on Sunday at 10:30, you'll find only Polish speakers. Most of them are kinda old-ish though. I doubt there are many in Parma, at least that still speak Polish, mostly because that immigration was a while ago now. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a lot of Slavs from the CIS made their way here, hence the Ukrainians in Parma and the Russians in Mayfield Heights (though there are also Russians in Parma and Ukrainians in Mayfield too). Cleveland Heights is also kinda dotted with Russians in some spots. For German, their might be some isolated people that are from Germany, but there isn't really a German community. The whole German thing really fell out of style after tha Nazi thing.

As a Russian speaker myself, I can tell you that the Slavic languages can be challenging for a native English speaker, but learning one can open up a very interesting part of the world to you. Also, if you can speak one Slavic language, it becomes easier to learn others. If you just want to learn a Slavic language, I suggest Russian, since it has the most speakers in this country and worldwide. But if you want to get in touch with your roots, you should go with your own background's language. For example, if you are Polish, you should learn Polish because, while both Slavs, the cultures and traditions of places like Russia-Poland can be very different. Even the closest of brothers in the Slavic realm, Russians and Ukrainians, still get upset if you confuse the two.

This sounds about right. The Ukrainian language can be heard throughout the many Ukrainian shops throughout the Ukrainian Village commercial district along State Road. I can tell you that the Polish language can also be heard at places like Krakow Deli and the Little Polish Diner located in the Polish Village commercial district along Ridge Road. The Ukrainian presence is much more visible, though with the new Polish Constitution weekend festivities and parade now being held on Ridge Road in May, it is not unusual to hear a good number of people speaking Polish at these events.

[PA Yankee]

Thank you all for the responses. I'm going to try to get some speaking practice in next time I'm in town.

Regarding Slavic Village and the Beachwood area, do you think Polish and Russian are more prevalent there?

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by PA Yankee

Thank you all for the responses. I'm going to try to get some speaking practice in next time I'm in town.

Regarding Slavic Village and the Beachwood area, do you think Polish and Russian are more prevalent there?

Slavic Village = Polish, no Russian presence at all really. Historically was Polish and Czech, mostly.

Beachwood = possibly some Russian Jews, but very few Russians compared to Mayfield.

[citydudeallover]

[quote=PA Yankee;31780296]Hello all,

I visited Parma for the first time in a while and noticed that the Ukrainian and Polish Village areas were more visible than they were previously (could just be my perception). I was curious to know if there are still many speakers of these languages here. My family origins are in Eastern Europe





St. Mary's in Parma on Broadview Road every Sunday at 11:00 A.M.

For further info visit Polish National Association .

stmaryspncc.com

powodzenia (good luck)

[TwinbrookNine]

Polish (and Ukrainian, which, by the way, is considered, around here, "hillbilly Polish" and entirely mutually intelligible) is spoken near the intersection of 15 Mile Rd and DeQuindre in Sterling Hgts and nearby Troy in the north suburbs of Detroit. Great food and supermarkets/bakeries with the good stuff, too. Worth the trip.

My roommate in college was an Italian from Parma (we called him "Parma John") and he was engaged to a Polish girl. That was eons ago. I wonder how that went. Anybody in Parma know what happened to "Parma John?"