Stronger ties -- Mexican-US border cities or Canadian-US border cities?

[Capsicum]

Germans kept their culture longer.

According to this source, 0.5% of people in the Midwest speak German at home (the second most of a non-English language after Spanish), or about 306, 000 in absolute terms. https://statisticalatlas.com/region/Midwest/Languages

I'm actually surprised that German is still spoken that widely in the Midwest, if the percentage is 0.5%. It's not obviously a huge number, but from any attention in the media or popular discourse, you'd get the impression that hardly any German Americans speak their heritage language (it's often been bandied around as an example of a culture that's already been assimilated to an "all-American" identity, with little of the home culture left). According to the map, it's still about one in a hundred people who speak German in the Dakotas.

[Capsicum]

I heard that compulsory schooling plus the stigmatization of the German language (or foreign languages in general as un-American) in the period of the world wars did in most Midwestern ethnic enclaves' languages.

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Docere

In the 1993 election, the left and center-left (Liberals and NDP) campaigned against NAFTA, the right and center-right (Reform and PCs) supported it. Of course Chretien immediately preceded the deal when he got into office.

The 1988 was the election with NAFTA as the big issue, wasn't it?

Though the 1993 was one with great shifts in the political landscape.

[Docere]

No, the 1988 was fought over the Canada-US FTA. NAFTA superceded it.

For whatever reason, the anti-free trade movement was stronger in 1988 than in 1993.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

Germans kept their culture longer.

According to this source, 0.5% of people in the Midwest speak German at home (the second most of a non-English language after Spanish), or about 306, 000 in absolute terms. https://statisticalatlas.com/region/Midwest/Languages

I'm actually surprised that German is still spoken that widely in the Midwest, if the percentage is 0.5%. It's not obviously a huge number, but from any attention in the media or popular discourse, you'd get the impression that hardly any German Americans speak their heritage language (it's often been bandied around as an example of a culture that's already been assimilated to an "all-American" identity, with little of the home culture left). According to the map, it's still about one in a hundred people who speak German in the Dakotas.

you shouldnt be surprized given the amish culture. holmes county in ohio is majority german speaking. its the only all esl school district in the state. they speak olde german of course, not modern german.

i had a german girlfriend in columbus. her father visited and made a bee line for holmes county. obviously its well known in germany. he came back scratching his head and saying he could barely understand them, that the german was so olde and archaic.

[Pedestrian]

^^

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[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

Germans kept their culture longer.

According to this source, 0.5% of people in the Midwest speak German at home (the second most of a non-English language after Spanish), or about 306, 000 in absolute terms. https://statisticalatlas.com/region/Midwest/Languages

I'm actually surprised that German is still spoken that widely in the Midwest, if the percentage is 0.5%. It's not obviously a huge number, but from any attention in the media or popular discourse, you'd get the impression that hardly any German Americans speak their heritage language (it's often been bandied around as an example of a culture that's already been assimilated to an "all-American" identity, with little of the home culture left). According to the map, it's still about one in a hundred people who speak German in the Dakotas.

In retrospect, it's kind of bizarre, to say the least (and that's not to imply I'm ungrateful for my own upbringing or exposure to German culture growing up, far from it, but, well, most Germans get a little skittish when it comes to nationalism ). My great grandmother came to Cincinnati from Germany in the late 1920s (back when Germany was, basically, a shithole) and German culture played a huge role in our upbringings (she died at age 93, I was 15). We had German relatives frequently come visit and would attend things like Schutzenfest and other such gatherings at the Kolping Society of Cincinnati. My uncle speaks somewhat fluent German (he was stationed at a U.S. Army base in Germany in the 1980s) and insists to this day that he won't let my cousin visit relatives in Germany until she is fluent in the language. Going beyond my own family, one of Cincinnati's most-famous neighborhoods is called "Over the Rhine" (a reference to the Miami & Erie canal, which apparently reminded many of the German immigrants who moved to the area of the Rhine River) and still, IIRC, has one of the larger Oktoberfest celebrations outside of Munich.

My family moved to Arizona when I was 13, and suddenly learning Spanish seemed a lot more important than trying to learn German when it came time in high school to pick foreign language classes.

[jd3189]

It's a shame a lot of German Americans lost their culture due to the Nazi situation during WWII. Get many has a pretty interesting history and the language ( in my opinion) is very nice to speak. Plus I like hot dogs and the other foods you guys brought over here.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by lio45

It wasn't secured. There were a few open streets with signs informing you you were crossing the border. After 9/11 Dubya added gates to them so now you have to pass through the village's main street, where there's a customs booth. The residents can come and go, of course, but there's more border patrol around nowadays.

There are houses in between the customs in other places, as well, such as Canaan VT (there's one building straddling the border) and Beecher Falls VT (where the house between the two customs is fully in Quebec though).

Stanstead is the best example though, with the Haskell Opera bisected, as well as a couple residential buildings on the main street*, plus Canusa Street in Beebe.

edit: actually, looking at Google sat view, there are many more buildings than I recalled that are cut by the border. I'm there regularly, but I rarely venture off my Main Street route (crossing the border in the old village as it's quicker, then going back to the freeway after that).

You may find this article very interesting about the border and showing houses that straddle the border.


http://www.clui.org/section/united-d...anada-border-2