Language & Identity
From German to American
Language loss across four generations of German immigrants in Wisconsin
German
English
1Generation
The Immigrants
ca. 1850–1880
Identity:“German in America”
“We spoke German, thought in German, dreamed in German.”
2Generation
The Children
ca. 1880–1910
Identity:“German-American”
“German at home with parents, English at school, both on the playground.”
1917 – USA Enters World War I
Practically overnight, everything German became suspect. German-language schools were closed, newspapers shut down, sauerkraut renamed “Liberty Cabbage.”
3Generation
The Grandchildren
ca. 1910–1940
Identity:“American of German descent”
“German was the language of grandparents, no longer the language of daily life.”
4+Generation
Great-Grandchildren and Beyond
from ca. 1940
Identity:“American” (with German heritage)
“German only a distant memory – but the family name remained.”
The Name Survives
While the language almost completely disappeared within four generations, the name “Nisius” endured – even if the pronunciation changed from “NEE-zee-oos” to “NIE-see-us.” The wine god Dionysus, from whom it derives, has willy-nilly become a beer drinker in the land of breweries.