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Again, you never read a word of what I posted above. 50% of Wisconsinites have German ancestry. There are towns that spoke German-only for as many as 5 generations. The dress, architecture, music, traditions, language, foods, and many other aspects are quite visible to people who have been to these places, which by the way DOES NOT INCLUDE YOU. So thanks for adding nothing once again!
But right off the bat that means 50% of Wisconsinites DON"T have German ancestry and don't have any relationship to Germany at all.
But almost all Wisconsinites; whether German, Polish, Black, Swedish, Irish, Hispanic, Jewish, Italian, etc. speak English.
The remaining 50 percent are mixed, so that makes German predominant. It's really pretty simple.
No, the remaining 50% are NOT German. Even the 50% that have German heritage, how many of them actually speak German? Probably not that many. But I bet they almost all speak English.
No, the remaining 50% are NOT German. Even the 50% that have German heritage, how many of them actually speak German? Probably not that many. But I bet they almost all speak English.
You need to read my post again - I said if 50% are German, the other 50% are a mix (or, are NOT German). You are misinterpreting what I said.
No, the remaining 50% are NOT German. Even the 50% that have German heritage, how many of them actually speak German? Probably not that many. But I bet they almost all speak English.
I actually wonder what the most "authentically" German-American neighborhood in the U.S. is today (besides the Amish). Or at least the closest thing. Aside from marking "German" on the Census form, or eating sauerkraut, how many German-Americans feel German in any meaningful way? While Boston's Irish may be fully American, they are still plenty "Irish" in the sense that they still exhibit a tremendously high degree of ethnic consciousness, as was evident in many Bostonians of Irish descent funding Sinn Fein. The Irish Voice and the Irish Echo still circulate in many predominantly Irish areas of the Northeast. So what would be the German-American equivalent of Southie for the Irish or South Philly for the Italians?
Again, you never read a word of what I posted above. 50% of Wisconsinites have German ancestry. There are towns that spoke German-only for as many as 5 generations. The dress, architecture, music, traditions, language, foods, and many other aspects are quite visible to people who have been to these places, which by the way DOES NOT INCLUDE YOU. So thanks for adding nothing once again!
It's actually 42 % of Wisconsinites with German ancestry, they don't make half of the population since 1980.
Hustiford,WI is an unique case. There weren't other places like that. 91 % of Wisconsinites only speak English in the last census.
Anyway we're talking nationwide not regionwide. Nobody deny the contribution of Germans into American culture
Quote:
Originally Posted by WRnative
American music has been heavily shaped and influenced by German-Austrian traditions.
Are you German or Austrian ?
American music traced its roots mainly to the British Isles and West Africa. I think even French and Spanish/Hispanic cultures had a greater influence than German culture. Their influences on American cuisine would be a better example.
Hustiford,WI is an unique case. There weren't other places like that. 91 % of Wisconsinites only speak English in the last census.
Anyway we're talking nationwide not regionwide. Nobody deny the contribution of Germans into American culture
Are you German or Austrian ?
American music traced its roots mainly to the British Isles and West Africa. I think even French and Spanish/Hispanic cultures had a greater influence than German culture. Their influences on American cuisine would be a better example.
I'm a mutt of mixed European ancestry, many generations removed from immigration. I would have a hard time tracing back all of my ethnic roots, but there certainly is some German mixed in there, but not predominate.
American music has had many influences, but the German-Austrian influence has been very significant, as I well documented, especially in classical, marches, and on Broadway musical theater.
I only looked at few names, but Sousa, Copland, Rodgers, and Gershwin, should be sufficient to prove my point. As noted, Julliard had a heavy German-Austrian influence, so add the likes of Alan Jay Lerner. Jerome Kern also was of Bohemian heritage.
Also consider that the box valve for brass instruments, including cornets and trumpets, was a German invention.
I don't believe that the German-Austrian influence has had as much impact on folk music, jazz, blues, rock-and-roll, etc.
I'm more familiar with the Oberlin musical conservatory, and there, classical training now is integral to jazz instruction.
I was reading about Louis Armstrong, and read how his wife encouraged him to play classical music to refine his techniques.
Cleveland, with its major music tradition (Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin, the Cleveland Music Settlement, and more), and with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which has a lesser-known library and archives, is a center of music theory and history. It's also a theater center, with a heavy emphasis on musical theater. So I've also picked up a lot by osmosis when it comes to musical influences in the U.S.
As with most things American, the greatness is in the assimilation and amalgamation of many different cultures.
I don't believe that German-Austrian traditions are dominant in the U.S., just very significant, and I don't see how that can be disputed. I just enjoy history and have read a lot of it, including about the history of science (I didn't even mention the impact of the German Nazi rocket experts on NASA and U.S. ballistic missile development) and education. As I mentioned in my first post on this topic, America's industrial success was very heavily achieved due to the influence of the German educational model and German mathematics. Do you dispute this???
Please enlighten us with some documentation as to how the Spanish/Hispanic, and especially the French, influence has exceeded that of the German-Austrians in music, or overall in American culture.
The French obviously were essential to the U.S. gaining its independence. Additionally, French political philosophy heavily influenced America's founding fathers. Yet, personally, absent any evidence to the contrary, I still believe that German culture overall influenced the U.S. very significantly, likely second only to that of the British. This shouldn't be surprising given the massive German immigration to the U.S.
In culinary traditions, in the Midwest, German and eastern European cuisines still are popular. Do you like beer??? Likely I'm influenced because Cleveland's rising culinary reputation is based on ethnic and mod ethnic culinary traditions, but that does extend to "Mod Mex" at Momocho. Fusion is alive and well in Cleveland and in all of the U.S., even as the Munich-based Hofbrau Haus chain is expanding across the U.S. and recently opened in Cleveland with a bier garden with a 1,000-person capacity (I'm curious if they survive in Cleveland because its product actually isn't as good as many of Cleveland's legacy offerings and I'm not fond of the location, but apparently the chain is doing well elsewhere).
I actually wonder what the most "authentically" German-American neighborhood in the U.S. is today (besides the Amish). Or at least the closest thing. Aside from marking "German" on the Census form, or eating sauerkraut, how many German-Americans feel German in any meaningful way? While Boston's Irish may be fully American, they are still plenty "Irish" in the sense that they still exhibit a tremendously high degree of ethnic consciousness, as was evident in many Bostonians of Irish descent funding Sinn Fein. The Irish Voice and the Irish Echo still circulate in many predominantly Irish areas of the Northeast. So what would be the German-American equivalent of Southie for the Irish or South Philly for the Italians?
I was thinking of the Amish myself. But when you think about it, the Amish and the Mennonites are more a religious minority then representative of the majority of German-Americans.
Interestingly out of 50 million Americans who claim German ancestry, less then 1.5 million actually speak German. What is that like 3%? That means the great majority of German-Americans, 97% or so, do not speak German. Or they might speak just a few German words like my family.
German-Americans are speaking English.
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