Cyrillic Ukrainian Alphabet ~ Finding the Meaning

My name, Deb,  in Cyrillic Ukrainian Alphabet it is spelled Деб

The letters look like drawn characters. 

They do not look like an alphabet to me. 

I didn't grow up with the Ukrainian part of my family. 

I didn't even know they existed until I was 29. 

I was 49 before a DNA match confirmed they were mine, and I could claim them. 

The first time I looked at the family name written I could only see the characters of the letters - not recognizing them as a real word.

I found a photo of my X2 great grandmother's grave marker.

I couldn't read it. 

I set out to find the translation for the characters on the marker. 

The family name I should have been given is Pellack, in Ukrainian it is Пеллак according the the translator, but on X2 great grandmother's marker it is Пелех. Only a little different. 

Translated it says: "Here rests  Maria Peleh   Forever remembered". The person who translated for me clarified that "The ‘h’ in Peleh is deep, like the deep h in Chanukah."

The name is spelled a little different on her Find-A-Grave - Pelech

This is where my X2 great grandmother was laid to rest.

When I did the reverse translation using the phrase above the results were: Тут відпочиває Марія Пелех Назавжди запам'яталася
which doesn't look exactly like the original, but close enough given exact translations are rarely correct, and my inexperienced eye. 

When I look at my name in Ukrainian spelling it looks like characters drawn - not recognizable as my name. 

When you loose family heritage often the first thing to go is the language. 

When I first learned of my Ukrainian family history I wanted to learn to speak and read Ukrainian. 

In the years since I have make zero progress towards learning. 

I wonder if learning a new language is easier if presented when you are younger? 

Wishing your ancestors had been there to teach you their language!!!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Sources:

English to Ukrainian, Ukrainian to English. Translations. Retrieved July 15th 2022 from https://www.translator.eu/english/ukrainian/translation/

МАРІЯ ПЕЛЕХ. Maria Pelech. Find A Grave. Retrieved July 15th 2022 from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/229775237/maria-pelech

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

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