I’m half Russian American on my father’s side, a quarter Israeli and some Egyptian on my mom’s side
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That’s a lot of languages! Which ones of them are you comfortable speaking?
I only know some Arabic, Russian, and English, so I’m usually comfortable with just Russian and English. As someone who used to be transfem, I had to get used to changing the way I said things in Russian and Arabic now that I’m a man.
For example, if I was an alcoholic as a woman, in Russian I’d be алкоголичка, but as a man, I’d be алкоголик. If I’m tired now, I’d be устал, but as a woman, I’d have been устала.
In Arabic (Standard Arabic), if you want to ask a woman her name formally, you ask “ ما اسمك؟” (ma ismuki), but you say ma ismuka to a man.
Neat! The only English word I can think of like that is “his blond” and “her blonde” pubes
In actual Egyptian Arabic, you’d say, اسْمَك إِيْه؟ (ismak eh) to a man. It’s written the same when said to a woman, but it’s ismik eh.
In Levantine Arabic (I guess i’d be of Levantine descent), you’d say (casually) شو اسمك؟ (shu ismak/shu ismik to a woman)
Adjectives also change in Arabic. In Levantine Arabic, you’d say “ هو ذكي” (huwwe zaki) meaning “he is smart”, but for a woman, you’d say “ هي ذكية” (hiyye zakiyye)
Well, even though English grammar has dropped gender from pretty much everything save pronouns these days, there are still quite a lot of gendered nouns from times past left in the language, compare for example “I’m a father” vs. “I’m a mother” (vs. “I’m a parent”), or “I’m an actor” vs. “I’m an actress”. There are also some adjectives left that aren’t strictly gendered per se, but still tend to have gendered usage, compare for example “I’m handsome” vs. “I’m pretty”.
Touche!! Thanks for that
How are family reunions?
They are quite interesting. We mainly speak English there as it’s a common language and everyone speaks it. I barely know any Hebrew despite my mom being from Israel.
Neat
What do you make of people with very little cultural history? Do you look down on them with pity or scorn???
I honestly don’t care, i think everyone’s history is interesting
Which holidays do you like to celebrate?
Christmas, Easter, Passover normally :)
(It’s odd because we kinda celebrate Chanukah and Christmas)
Sounds amazing. A lot of opportunities to spend time with loved ones ❤️
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What’s the story behind your mom’s heritage? Do you have an Egyptian Jewish grandparent?
How did your parents meet?
My dad came to the U.S. with his family at a young age, as did my mom. They actually went to school together but didn’t really talk or pursue each other until MUCH later.
Were they in the same grade?
Mom was a year older
Are you multilingual?
да! (I’d say so. Despite Russian being my first language, I’m better at English. I’m also learning Arabic)
How many places have you lived in?
