Tarjomeh Free Radio Script Service

Script for February 13, 2002
Radio broadcast in RealAudio®

A Cuban-born friend who came to the U.S. four decades ago considers himself a first-generation American. The way Carlos sees it, the act of becoming a naturalized American conferred first-generation status upon him and second-generation status upon his offspring. But when he got talking to a fellow-American whose Japanese husband had not become an American citizen, he heard a different perspective. She believes first-generation describes people who are the first of their kind to be born in a particular place, making her children first-generation Americans.

In the interest of maintaining diplomatic relations, our friends turned to us for help. We're happy to report they are both correct. In fact, first-generation has two meanings: it is used for Americans born in the US of immigrant parents, and it is used for naturalized, foreign-born Americans.

So first-generation describes both Carlos, a foreign-born naturalized citizen, and his neighbor's children, born in this country of a Japanese father and American mother. By the way, those multiple meanings carry on into the second- and third-generation too: second-generation names both a member of the second generation to be born in the U.S. and someone native-born of foreign or mixed parentage. Third-generation is used for both a member of the third generation of a family to be born in the U.S. and a member of the second generation of a family to be born in the U.S.

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