Are Taran and Nicky V. Dutch?

[Merobieboy]

Just like the title says, are they dutch? Their (last) names (Taran van Hemert & Nick van Berkel) sure sound like it. Or, if it is not theirselves, are their family's dutch?

 

-Merobieboy

[Organized]

Probably their ancestors were dutch but I don't think they "feel" dutch.

[dalekphalm]

Taran "is" American, and Nick "is" Canadian. Neither are "dutch", since I don't believe either was born or raised in the Netherlands. Though it's quite possible some of their ancestors are dutch. Perhaps parents or grandparents at best.

 

A Family Name can exist from generations or centuries ago. There are very few family names (non-aboriginal ones anyway) that originated in Canada or the US, so pretty much all Canadians and Americans have "names" that come from elsewhere (Mostly Europe).

[Thunderpup]

14 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Taran "is" American, and Nick "is" Canadian. Neither are "dutch", since I don't believe either was born or raised in the Netherlands. Though it's quite possible some of their ancestors are dutch. Perhaps parents or grandparents at best.

 

A Family Name can exist from generations or centuries ago. There are very few family names (non-aboriginal ones anyway) that originated in Canada or the US, so pretty much all Canadians and Americans have "names" that come from elsewhere (Mostly Europe).

How many generations does it take until people cease being (insert national origin)?

[dalekphalm]

2 minutes ago, Thunderpup said:

How many generations does it take until people cease being (insert national origin)?

Personally, I'd say one.

 

Example:

If your parents were born in Germany, for example, but you were born and raised in Canada, you're Canadian, not German.

 

Otherwise, drawing the line anywhere else is 100% arbitrary. What logical difference would there be if your parents were German, vs if your Great Grand Parents were German? Either way you were born and raised in Canada.

[Thunderpup]

6 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Personally, I'd say one.

 

Example:

If your parents were born in Germany, for example, but you were born and raised in Canada, you're Canadian, not German.

 

Otherwise, drawing the line anywhere else is 100% arbitrary. What logical difference would there be if your parents were German, vs if your Great Grand Parents were German? Either way you were born and raised in Canada.

While i agree that in your scenario the immigrant's child would be "Canadian", but i do also believe they are also German in that context.

 

In that scenario their household would likely still be very German like, and German would likely be the most common language spoken among the family members.  Even if they had fully assimilated into the host Canadian culture there would still be enough of the old country that they can claim to be German as well.

I speak mainly from vicarious personal experience. My Opa was from the Netherlands and the home country was very important in the house my father grew up in as a result; which was passed along to me; though dad did never teach me dutch.  My interactions with people whose parents are from other countries have shown me that they too had a similar experience to my dad's.  The language spoken in their home is typically that of their country of origin, and this seems to be true whether they are Asian, European, or Hispanic. 

Sorry for my rambling a bit, i'm on my 3rd 16 hour shift and i've given up on proper english.

[ComBron]

On 2-3-2017 at 12:12 AM, dalekphalm said:

Taran "is" American, and Nick "is" Canadian. Neither are "dutch", since I don't believe either was born or raised in the Netherlands. Though it's quite possible some of their ancestors are dutch. Perhaps parents or grandparents at best.

 

A Family Name can exist from generations or centuries ago. There are very few family names (non-aboriginal ones anyway) that originated in Canada or the US, so pretty much all Canadians and Americans have "names" that come from elsewhere (Mostly Europe).

Interesting. Two Dutch names both not Dutch at all. Only some nice backnames to remind them. That is at least something. Still, I feel sorry for Taran and Nick.

[Guest]

"Yo Boy" Nicky V is quite clearly from Boston. 

[LAwLz]

On 3/2/2017 at 12:30 AM, dalekphalm said:

Personally, I'd say one.

 

Example:

If your parents were born in Germany, for example, but you were born and raised in Canada, you're Canadian, not German.

 

Otherwise, drawing the line anywhere else is 100% arbitrary. What logical difference would there be if your parents were German, vs if your Great Grand Parents were German? Either way you were born and raised in Canada.

You might say my line is arbitrary, but I think it often takes a few generations before someone becomes a "Canadian" even if they were born there.

If the parents comes from a country with a vastly different culture, it often takes a few generations before the culture of the new country becomes the norm for the children of immigrants. It is why we have terms like "second generation immigrant".

First generation immigrants are typically raised like their parents were in their previous country. The second generation will typically be more culturally aligned with the new country, but still have several ties to the culture of the other country. The more generations that goes by, the strong the bond to the culture of the country they currently inhabit becomes. How quickly that transition is varies from family to family, and country of origin vs country they migrated to as well, so I don't think drawing a hard line is possible.

 

If you ask me, I think culture plays a very important role in being classified as a "Canadian" or "Swede" or whichever country we're talking about. If my children were born and raised inside Japan, but following 100% of Swedish traditions and cultural values, while shunning Japanese traditions and culture, then I don't think they would appear Japanese to anyone. I am not even sure they would classify themselves as Japanese.