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comment by c_hawkthorne
c_hawkthorne  ·  1113 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: March 10, 2021

I don't know how he did it, but my grandmother's grandfather spoke Polish, Latin, Greek, German, and Lithuanian.

    Also, this went mostly under the radar:

So did pubski :(





mk  ·  1113 days ago  ·  link  ·  

There is almost always an early spring lull. I am not sure why, but it is a thing.

Devac  ·  1113 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Did he live here? Cause if he did, this could explain some of it: Polish is almost a shortcut to many Slavic languages, especially if augmented with Russian. With only limited exposure, I can understand quite a bit in Czech, Slovak, Croatian, and Ukrainian. Latin and Greek were near-compulsory in Polish schools up until WWII, which lead to weird anecdotes like my grandfather hearing exitus acta probat before some hick tried to beat him up in what you'd call 'the boonies'. German... he could have been exposed to it, depends on where he lived. Lithuanian is a mystery, though, again, it'd depend on his location or travel.

c_hawkthorne  ·  1113 days ago  ·  link  ·  

My family history is a massive Eastern European disaster. He was probably raised in Lithuania but we're not super sure. Last names on that side are clearly Americanized versions of Eastern European names so it's essentially impossible to trace back with any efficacy.

Devac  ·  1113 days ago  ·  link  ·  

We call it "business as usual." Just by 'social standing', my largely incomplete family tree spans from destitute Ukrainian Jew to a Prussian count with lots in-between and just as shoddy bookkeeping.

c_hawkthorne  ·  1113 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ha yeah I've got Lithuanian, Polish, Austrian landed gentry, Russian Jew, who knows what else.

Devac  ·  1113 days ago  ·  link  ·