This is an interesting question that never occurred to me before. My wife’s father is a first generation Polish immigrant, but her mother is an American with mixed heritage. My wife never calls herself “second generation Polish”. I think in these cases, the idea of “generation” disappears. She simply says, “I’m half Polish”.

However, I would imagine that it would be a problem if her mother was second generation Polish, in which case her heritage would be clearly Polish, but she won’t be able to say what degree of generation she is.

At first, I thought this is an easy question to answer, but upon a Google search for "writers forum", I realized that both are used commonly.

I think his use is appropriate if he means a lawyer who has been enlightened; who has realized that there is more to being a lawyer than power and money. That is, he/she has transcended the ordinary expectation of a lawyer.

Hi porsche,

But if you do a search on Google for "nite" or "lite", you will see that there are many company and product names that use those spellings. They have to be intentional, since they go through expensive trademark process.

I think it is because there are so many intentional usages that many people started assuming them as correct.

In fact, I've seen some products for kids that use "nite" and "lite". If you grow up seeing them in this manner, you would have to assume that they are correct. So, I would think it's the other way around; it started with intentional usage and spread to unintentional usage.

I think the most popular ones are "Nite" for night and "Lite" for light.

If the word does not exist, this is your opportunity to coin one, which could actually end up in dictionaries.

I would suggest something to the effect of "poetic spelling"

The percentage of green card holders is a moot point, but that number does not surprise me. I would expect that. The majority of Green Card holders have no intension of becoming citizens because they prefer to be the citizens of their origins. They just want to work here. So, they would never be called “first generation” because they will never have “second generation” (their kids) in this country (and they are not American).

I would still argue that the vast majority of immigrants who have kids in this country are naturalized. I would say your relatives are rare cases. For immigrants (especially non-English-speaking) to have children in this country is a serious commitment. They have to be very serious about being part of this country. So, it would only make sense that they become naturalized citizens.

I can understand why British citizens would not bother becoming American citizens, since the whole family could potentially go back and forth. This would not be the case, if you were Chinese for instance. It would be very difficult for Chinese-American kids who were born in the US to go to China and live. The cultural difference is too great. So, the parents must take that into consideration when they have kids here. They have to assume that their kids would never go live in China, which means that you yourself would be committed to living here.

Also, there is a big difference between coming from a rich country like England and poorer countries China. Many Chinese people here, for instance, become citizens as soon as they can, so they can sponsor their relatives for Green Cards.

OK, just to establish the fact that it IS ambiguous, here is the definition of "first-generation" from Merriam-Webster Unabridged:

1 : born in the U.S. -- used of an American of immigrant parentage
2 : FOREIGN-BORN -- used of a naturalized American

So, it appears that both usages are correct. Here are some usage examples I found on the web:

"First-generation Americans always have lived between two worlds, one foot in the old place and the other in the United States."

"As first-generation Americans, many Filipino parents encourage their children to assimilate into American society."

"My family is loaded with first-generation Americans, and not one of them, ever, has said they are Italian first, American second."

"Asian Americans: Oral Histories of First Generation Americans from China, the Philippines, Japan, India, the Pacific Islands, Vietnam, and Cambodia."

"The Oklahoma Historical Society is seeking information on ‘first generation’ Americans and about the experiences of immigrants residing in Oklahoma. First generation refers to the first family members born in the U. S. A."

"Based on Chickerings model, differences in self-esteem and identity development among first-generation American (FGA) college students and non first-generation American (NFGA) students were examined."

"On the one hand, we, as first generation Americans, are trying to adopt a new culture, a new way of life, a new way of expression, and to fit in to the environment around us."

"Coming to China has made me realize how difficult it is for the first-generation to establish an identity."

"Most of the children of the foreign-born first generation Americans are born in the U.S."

"Immigrants to the United States are usually called first-generation Americans, regardless of their citizenship status, and their children second-generation Americans."

Hi Porsche,

"Far more often, the parents aren't naturalized". This is simply not true. You cannot live in this country unless you are a naturalized citizen. I would say 99% of the immigrants who had children here were naturalized Americans. Otherwise, they would have to leave this country. You could possibly stay here forever on a Green Card, but once you have children, it would not make sense to do so. So the very first people in your family to be American citizens are the ones who immigrated to this country. They are the first Americans in the family. Why shouldn't they be the "first generation"?

What does “first generation” imply? First generation of what? Isn’t it “first generation American”? If so, someone who immigrated and was naturalized to be an American citizen is the first to be the American in the family, in which case he/she is the “first generation.”

Also, if the first-born is first generation, in speaking of “generations” in an American family, what do you call the ones who immigrated here? Zero generation? After all, they are part of the “generations” in the family, aren’t they? Or, are you suggesting that they are not part of “generations” in the family tree at all?

Hi Speedwell,

Yes, thank you. My wife did have a baby.