Talk:Slovene Americans

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In view of the thorough scarcity of Slovenes here I have decided to add August Pust's name. He is, it seems to me, notable. --VKokielov 03:03, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Judith Arlene Resnik

Why are we listing Judith Arlene Resnik as possibly being of Slovenian origin? If it's just based on her name, the Dictionary of American Family Names should put that to rest:

Last Name: Resnik 1. Variant spelling of Jewish Reznik ‘ritual slaughterer’. 2. Slovenian: probably a topographic name from resa ‘heather’ (dialect res), or from resnik a type of barley.

We know she was Jewish, so we can be almost certain that the first explanation applies here. Unless there is some additional evidence available, I will remove her name from the list. WorldWide Update 12:47, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

Since there were no objections, I replaced Resnik with Charles Kuralt, who said the following in his book A Life on the Road: "I come from wandering tribes, Norse and Celtic on my mother's side it seems, nomad Bavarians on my father's, ancestors become Scots-Irish and Slovenian by the time of their migration to America. As far as I could tell, none of them ever stayed anywhere for long."

Since his Slovenian origins are only partial and apparently distant, I think we should keep him under the heading "Important Americans with Slovenian origins," rather than in the "Important Slovenian Americans" section. WorldWide Update 11:00, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Importance

People should realize that this is a listing of important Slovenian Americans, not a directory of all Slovenian Americans (and certainly not a vanity list). For instance, we just had a case of a college student being added to the list without any indication of her broader significance. I'm about to remove Tom Susnik as well, because his description, as currently written, doesn't indicate what sets him apart from numerous other successful Slovenian American businesspeople. In other words, it doesn't say why he is "important" in this context. Did he invent something? Do his business skills stand out in any way? Did he receive any national awards for his skills or accomplishments? Is he an industry leader? (The description doesn't even mention what field he's in.) I'm sorry, but "millionaire" doesn't quite cut it in 2006. ;) WorldWide Update 11:08, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Doctors"

According to the Slovenian translation of this page, 738 Slovenian Americans aren't doctors (physicians), but have rather a doctorate (Ph.D). The inconsistency arose probably from the fact, that both are called doktorji in Slovenian.

[edit] Incomplete lists

The lists of some people, for example bishops and generals, are incomplete. Can the person who originally started those lists finish them? Squamate 14:55, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Voinovich and Kucinich

Both have Slovene ancestry:

"President Janez Drnovsek has decorated George Voinovich, a US senator of Slovenian-Serbian descent, for his merits in Slovenia's international affirmation and in the promotion of friendship between Slovenia and the United States." [1]

"The celebrations were organised with the help of Mayor of Cleveland Frank G. Jackson, who joined Cleveland Senator George Voinovich and Representative Dennis Kucinich as well as others of Slovenian descent and Slovenian diplomats on Monday." [2] Squamate 02:59, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Check their articles. George Voinovich's bio says he has a Serbian father and a Slovene mother. Dennis Kucinich's article says he is of Croatian ancestry!!! Squamate 03:04, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

You are wrong that Kucinich has Slovene ancestry. However, he does have Croatian ancestry. Slovenia and Croatia are different countries with different languages! Voinovich does have Slovene ancestry. See two references: [3] [4]

I cited articles that stated Kucinich has Slovene ancestry. You cited articles that say he has Irish ancestry. Oh, well. Maybe I'll write to Kucinich himself and ask him for the truth. PS: I know Slovenia and Croatia are two different countries with different languages - I'm a member of SNPJ and KSKJ. PPS: Sign your posts to talk pages! Squamate 00:25, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Some feedback and criticism

Perhaps this article is intended as a stub, until a fuller treatment can be provided. The history section is whimsical, not historical. Anything based on modern demographic data is suspect (see the comment below on sources). Random inclusion of opinion are inappropriate, whether accurate or otherwise (such as the gratuitous mention of "anti-Slavic" prejudice), and the article should not offer unreferenced suggestions as to why some/many Slovenes do not have names that are recognizably Slovene.

On source material:

Rev. Trunk's 1912 writeup (http://feefhs.org/slovenia/sidb1/trunki.html) on Slovene Communities in America is an excellent reference (and a primary source) to use in researching this article, and as background in other articles relating to Slovenes in America or elsewhere. One might also have a look at that web page's "list of prominent Slovenes", at the bottom of the page. Trunk (actually Trunklje, I think) personally knew the people that he wrote about, and his writeup is better than others that I've seen (particularly those cited in the article). It's a bit of an effort, but one comes away with a sense that one understands the lives of the immigrants themselves. This helps to provide a feasible basis for discussing their descendants (who are the subject of this article).
Citations regarding current demographics, from the Census Bureau and elsewhere, are a must-have, I suppose. They are not accurate, and that is noted virtually everywhere the topic arises. So basing article content upon those demographics, as has been done, is a well-intentioned but unworthy effort. There are many reasons for inaccurate demographic data, and those reasons are usually innocuous, unlike the reasons that are often suggested.
The "Slavic Heritage Coalition" source does not provide source material, it provides unreferenced judgmental conclusions and statements, and should not be cited by or used in Wikipedia.
The "Slovenian Americans" source is more of a travelogue article, with a romantically affectionate (and historically uncritical) approach. It contains some useful information, but this source is correctly described as mostly feel-good stories of unknown provenance. Repeating its content in the Wikipedia article is inappropriate without verification, as is citing it as an authoritative source, though the article might be mentioned in the sense of "additional reading".
The paper written by Dr. Klemenčič is a professional source. So at least the article has one. He doesn't cite his own sources in the paper, but it looks like the Trunk writeup mentioned above is a major one.

24.178.228.14 (talk) 20:19, 29 January 2008 (UTC)