Monday, 22 January 2024

Language and mores, Part VII

Update: follow Part VIII here.

 I recapped in my previous post (here) the first five parts ending w how tribal mores persist today. Having mentioned im/migration  in Part III (here), my stay in the family home led to discuss how we relate to our parents. Note that I was born on the way out so to speak - born in Vienna en route from Budapest to Paris as my parents fled the Hungarian Uprising on New Years Eve 1957 -  whereas my sibs were born 15 yrs later in Pau, SW FR, where my parents settled - that time interval isn't germane here - but it helps explain the generation gap. Here is what I said in French:

... We skipped a generation as privileged immigrants: in fact I was the 1st transit  generation, and [my sibs ] were the 2nd landed generation.  Mom and Dad were "entre deux eaux" [1],  in between waterflows and never found their feet on the ground...