Re: CHAT: (no subject)

Danny Wier wrote:

"Tehaskij (Texas Russian): The little-known Third Language of Texas!
(Yes, it's fictional.)"

    I was under the impression that the people of Panna Maria (Karnes
County), who immigrated to Texas in the 19th century, still spoke Silesian
Polish to this very day.  Check out the website of the Polish Genealogical
Society of Texas (www.pgst.org); I know they have more information on Panna
Maria.  In fact, there is quite a large number of people of Polish descent
in Texas today (I know Austin has one of the largest Polish Jewish
populations in North America, IIRC); perhaps Polish might have something to
contribute to Tehaskij?

     I initially thought that you were describing Polish immigration to
Texas, but changing your "Poles" to "Russians."

     The situation is somewhat analogous to my grandmother's hometown of
Frenchville, PA; after the Revolutionary War, General Lafayette was granted
land in the western part of Pennsylvania, and returned to America bearing
criminals of all sorts to settle the area.  The descendents of these French
criminals are the people of Frenchville, a town so small it does not appear
on most maps; when I was growing up, I remember Frenchville as the sort of
town with a community bulletin board to spread local news but only one TV
(at the time, owned by my grandfather, who ran the local tavern).
     My grandmother, who was neither Catholic nor French (Pennsylvania
Dutch/Cherokee), never really fit in with this community.  After her
children had moved out of the house, however, she and her husband returned
and settled down there.
     The myth goes that the French which the people of Frenchville speak is
"unchanged from the days of Lafayette."  I'm not sure how true this is; I've
heard similar claims made for Quebecois.  Frenchville is fast becoming a
ghost town (as the young leave for educational and economic reasons), and I
have yet to meet one person from the state of Pennsylvania who has heard of
it.

-Chollie
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