We need to do a deep study on Somalis and language loss amongst diasporas.Respectfully, We are lacking hugely compared to Arabs, Asians and Eastern Europeans migrants.
How is it possible that more Somalis whose parents migrated in the 90s lost their language compared to Asians and Arabs whose grandparents migrated in the 60s-80s?
How are more third generation Asians/Arabs fluent in their language than the second generation Somalis? I am basing this on living in multi racial/ethnic cities, work, mosques, football etc. I would say Somali children/young are more prone to people losing their home language more than any other immigrant group. One could even go as far as saying that some third generation Jamaican Patois speakers are doing better at retaining their dialect.
I think it is due to a number of factors:
1. Somalis not teaching their children in the West how to write Somali. Punjabis, Hindis and Arabs have schools and cultural activities outside of education where they disseminate /teach their language. This is one of the disadvantages of only codifying our language in the 20th century with very few resources such as children’s stories available in Somali. The more you read a language, the easier it becomes to speak.
2. Just a theory- large families with high divorce rates, therefore parents (mothers) spending little time conversing in Somali with their children at early stage. Children end up on the phones, TV and they are only able speak a few words in elementary Somali. It is common in the West to witness Somali mothers who speak beginner level English whilst their children speak beginner level Somali. In the long run, this can cause problems in communicator behaviour and educational attainment.
3. A culture where people who don’t speak Somali fluently are mocked. This obviously doesn’t not bode well for language acquisition, as we know it requires mistakes to be made in order to be confident and proficient in any language.
4. A deep sense Of inferiority of open and unconscious bias towards Somali. Unfortunately, some elites and even Salafi sheikhs contribute to this inadvertently as they rarely speak about the rich culture and heritage of Somali language/culture etc. Some of these elites like to show off by adding and/or substituting basic Somali words with Arabic and English. This is also exacerbated by the war in Somalia and the negative depictions of Somalis in the media. That is not say Somali is on par with English or Arabic btw but every language has an importance to its people and to her locality.
How is it possible that more Somalis whose parents migrated in the 90s lost their language compared to Asians and Arabs whose grandparents migrated in the 60s-80s?
How are more third generation Asians/Arabs fluent in their language than the second generation Somalis? I am basing this on living in multi racial/ethnic cities, work, mosques, football etc. I would say Somali children/young are more prone to people losing their home language more than any other immigrant group. One could even go as far as saying that some third generation Jamaican Patois speakers are doing better at retaining their dialect.
I think it is due to a number of factors:
1. Somalis not teaching their children in the West how to write Somali. Punjabis, Hindis and Arabs have schools and cultural activities outside of education where they disseminate /teach their language. This is one of the disadvantages of only codifying our language in the 20th century with very few resources such as children’s stories available in Somali. The more you read a language, the easier it becomes to speak.
2. Just a theory- large families with high divorce rates, therefore parents (mothers) spending little time conversing in Somali with their children at early stage. Children end up on the phones, TV and they are only able speak a few words in elementary Somali. It is common in the West to witness Somali mothers who speak beginner level English whilst their children speak beginner level Somali. In the long run, this can cause problems in communicator behaviour and educational attainment.
3. A culture where people who don’t speak Somali fluently are mocked. This obviously doesn’t not bode well for language acquisition, as we know it requires mistakes to be made in order to be confident and proficient in any language.
4. A deep sense Of inferiority of open and unconscious bias towards Somali. Unfortunately, some elites and even Salafi sheikhs contribute to this inadvertently as they rarely speak about the rich culture and heritage of Somali language/culture etc. Some of these elites like to show off by adding and/or substituting basic Somali words with Arabic and English. This is also exacerbated by the war in Somalia and the negative depictions of Somalis in the media. That is not say Somali is on par with English or Arabic btw but every language has an importance to its people and to her locality.
