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Archiver > CROATIA > 2000-04 > 0955162012


From: "Dr. A. Nixon" <>
Subject: Re: [CROATIA-L] Re: CROATIA-D Digest V00 #58
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 19:46:52 -0700
References: <3.0.5.32.20000407184643.0080e810@pop.seanet.com>


As a boy growing up in the Pittsburgh area (all four grandparents had
immigrated - 3 from Croatia and one from Bosnia) we often were required to
refer to esteemed friends and family as Kum and Kuma. I'm sure we did not
have that many Godparents. Rather, I think it was the colloquialization of
the language. Remember, many of our immigrant relatives had been peasants in
the old country and were likely not literate in English or Croatian. Often
the communities were melting pots with Italians, Slovaks, and other
nationalities. The common language at work and on the streets was often
pidgen and perhaps the second generation used many of the pidgen words
thinking they were speaking Croatian.

An old joke goes that a third generation Italian who spoke only English
wished to travel to Italy to do genealogy. So her found a second generation
Italian-American who purportedly spoke the language and paid his way to be
the translator. When the boat docked in Italy the host decided to test his
translator's skills so he pointed to a fellow on the docks and said, "Go ask
that man in Italian what his name is."

The second generation walked up to the native and said, "Hey buddy, wassa
you name?"

A. Nixon in Las Vegas
----- Original Message -----
From: "C. Allen" <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2000 6:46 PM
Subject: [CROATIA-L] Re: CROATIA-D Digest V00 #58


>
> when I was a girl we called my grandma's next door neighbor Kuma
(Kovatich)
> - she was quite elderly, and I never did know her first name (I thought
> that WAS her first name, until I got older), but I was told kum/kuma could
> also be used as terms of respect for elders. (In addition to being
> godparents.) I remember her and my grandma sitting on grandma's front
> porch (in Ohio) chattering away in Croatian.
>
>
> Carole in Seattle
>
>
> ***********
>
> wrote:
> >
> >Kum does mean Godfather in Croatian and Kuma is Godmother. Kumc^e is
Godson
> >and Kumica is Goddaughter.
> >
>
>



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