ŚNI MI SIĘ PO POLSKU – MOTYWY EMIGRACYJNE W REPORTAŻU RADIOWYM
IDREAM IN POLISH – EMIGRATION NARRATIVES IN THE RADIO FEATURE

Author(s): Anna Musialik-Chmiel
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Polish Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: exodus; language; identity; radio reportage; arranged facts
Summary/Abstract: The descendants of the first Polish settlers in the United States – Silesians who arrived in Texas in the mid-19th century – are a topic that has fascinated many authors over the years. It was also an inspiration for radio features. For several generations, the Silesian Texans have been able to preserve the language of their forefathers, their unique dialect. Indeed, they have come to identify it as proper Polish, as opposed to the “Warsaw” Polish they hear when they visit the old country nowadays. Researchers studying the Silesian phenomenon in Texas started to inquire, as early as in the mid-20th century, into the tendency to “return to the lineage” commonly observed among the subsequent generations descending from the original Silesian settlers. It is my opinion that such questions remain pertinent also in the second decade of the 21st century. Therefore, I seek to contribute to the answer by identifying new facts and events relevant to the same, including a number of unpublished family histories, family chronicles inspired by a certain heartfelt longing, journeys – pilgrimages to the old country embraced by ever younger generations of Silesian Texans, a number of studies into the genealogies of the Silesian families in Texas, as well as the construction of the heritage center in the town of Panna Maria, the oldest Polish settlement in America.

• Details
• Contents