How important is it to you for your children to know Somali?

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Or just speak to them in somali, and expect them to do the same with you. With repetition, they'll learn the language in no-time.
How much do u have time for them if you are working and they are going to school everyday?

They'd watch tv too, and speak english most of their time while in school.

even taking yearly vacations for a month or two until they're grown up is good.
 
How much do u have time for them if you are working and they are going to school everyday?

They'd watch tv too, and speak english most of their time while in school.

even taking yearly vacations for a month or two until they're grown up is good.

The time you would spend communicating with them, is the time you would implement it. You always have time for the things you really care about. If you really want your kids to speak somali, you can do it. What will 2 vacations a year do for them when that's the only time they'll be learning. Imagine speaking, understanding and going on these vacations. They'll love who they are even more don't you think?
 
The time you would spend communicating with them, is the time you would implement it. You always have time for the things you really care about. If you really want your kids to speak somali, you can do it. What will 2 vacations a year do for them when that's the only time they'll be learning. Imagine speaking, understanding and going on these vacations. They'll love who they are even more don't you think?
u can do both.

they have to feel connected to their home country. speaking to them won't be enough.
 
Would you speak english to your parents? Yes sxb, how's your somali now? Are you integrated in the somali community and has it improved?

I speak English to em and they reply in Somali, that is how it works. I can have basic conversation in Somali but too nothing meaningful.

I can understand Somali, listen to Somali music most of the time and funny enough when talk in Somali around non-Somali's, my Somali improves drastically.

I'm not part the Somali community since I moved to a different city and tbh I don't look Somali that brings another set of problems.

Damn I have said too much, thank you for hearing a brother out :fittytousand:
 

ThreeTwentyOne

It's too damn HOT!
The time you would spend communicating with them, is the time you would implement it. You always have time for the things you really care about. If you really want your kids to speak somali, you can do it. What will 2 vacations a year do for them when that's the only time they'll be learning. Imagine speaking, understanding and going on these vacations. They'll love who they are even more don't you think?


I feel like this is the ideal way to do it but its definitely easier said than done. I've seen immigrant families try this on their kids but the kids are literally spending 2/3rds of their day in school/after school programs speaking in English while their parents are working.


Kids will speak the language they prefer and that's usually the main language that's spoken in the country they reside in. They wont be proficient but good enough I guess.
 
Somali parents failed their kids. Instead of practicing ESL on their children, they should've spoken to them in af Somaali. Most of the somalis in my area don't speak Somali, so when a habo or adeer see me, they speak to me in English and are SHOCKED when I respond back to them in Somali.

Sad, but true. We need to get it together. This generation is lost, so for the next generation, its important that parents speak to their kids in af somaali at home from a young age. That's what I intend on doing inshallah.
 

Crow

Make Hobyo Great Again
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Somali parents failed their kids. Instead of practicing ESL on their children, they should've spoken to them in af Somaali. Most of the somalis in my area don't speak Somali, so when a habo or adeer see me, they speak to me in English and are SHOCKED when I respond back to them in Somali.

Sad, but true. We need to get it together. This generation is lost, so for the next generation, its important that parents speak to their kids in af somaali at home from a young age. That's what I intend on doing inshallah.
We have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of our parents. My parents spoke Somali to us but let us speak English at home. Now my siblings and I can barely speak the language.

When I have kids inshallah, I plan to enforce an Af Somali only rule at home and to vacation back home every year or two.

Language and culture are crucial in resisting assimilating into a gaal society.
 
We have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of our parents. My parents spoke Somali to us but let us speak English at home. Now my siblings and I can barely speak the language.

When I have kids inshallah, I plan to enforce an Af Somali only rule at home and to vacation back home every year or two.

Language and culture are crucial in resisting assimilating into a gaal society.

You don’t need to go to Somalia to learn the language. I was born and raised in the west, never stepped foot in Somalia and I, along with my siblings can speak the language. It’s all about how willing you are as a parent to teach them.

Start young and be consistent. Also do not accommodate your kids. Far too many parents speak English to their children and wonder why they can’t speak the language. My parents till this day speak to me in Somali and I respond back in Somali or sometimes English.

Also if kids have elders around like ayeeyo or awoowe, let the kids speak to them one on one, as opposed to having the parents serve as a translator for their ciyaal.
 
Somali parents failed their kids. Instead of practicing ESL on their children, they should've spoken to them in af Somaali. Most of the somalis in my area don't speak Somali, so when a habo or adeer see me, they speak to me in English and are SHOCKED when I respond back to them in Somali.

Sad, but true. We need to get it together. This generation is lost, so for the next generation, its important that parents speak to their kids in af somaali at home from a young age. That's what I intend on doing inshallah.

How is that going to happen when the future parents (ie our generation) don't know the language themselves? My hope is with the folks back home. I frankly do not have much hope in the diaspora.

The only af-somali rule at home many want to implement is important, I agree. If that is combined with a yearly visit to the motherland, much is indeed won. However, many do not visit Somalia, and if they do it is only once or twice. What should be done in such a case, from my experience, is to expose the kids to somali culture in the west. How so? By visiting relatives often and having them visiting you. Force them to sit and listen to the discussion the elderly are having even if they refuse to speak. Do not let them hide in their room! After some time they will feel confident in themselves and they will have gained a good amount of knowledge of both somali vocabulary but also how somalis speak, in addition to free history lessons and somali culture.

But as one of my OG cousins said back in the days:

Adeer, timirtii horeba dab loo waa!

:manny:
 
I think It's impossible to learn Somali in the West.

Alx I lived in Somalia when I was 10yo so I can speak perfect Somali but I thought a whole back on how will I teach my kids Somali?

My answer is to either marry a FOB or live in Somalia for few years .

Sadly I am not interested in both of them so Instead of raising a say wallahi kid I will marry out lol

As long as they are good practising Muslim I don't care about my descendants.

I will die anyway.
 

World

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There is no point teaching your children Somali if you plan on living on the west. If you want your child to care about their religion or language, then move back home. Else just forget about your parents country, identity, language, and assimilate into your cadaan society so your descendants can marry non muslim ajnabis.
 
How is that going to happen when the future parents (ie our generation) don't know the language themselves? My hope is with the folks back home. I frankly do not have much hope in the diaspora.

The only af-somali rule at home many want to implement is important, I agree. If that is combined with a yearly visit to the motherland, much is indeed won. However, many do not visit Somalia, and if they do it is only once or twice. What should be done in such a case, from my experience, is to expose the kids to somali culture in the west. How so? By visiting relatives often and having them visiting you. Force them to sit and listen to the discussion the elderly are having even if they refuse to speak. Do not let them hide in their room! After some time they will feel confident in themselves and they will have gained a good amount of knowledge of both somali vocabulary but also how somalis speak, in addition to free history lessons and somali culture.

But as one of my OG cousins said back in the days:

Adeer, timirtii horeba dab loo waa!

:manny:

I am mainly referring to those who already know the language. Everyone else is screwed pretty much. Teaching my kids Somali wouldn’t be too hard since I speak it and would ensure that my parents and other elders speak only af Somali to them.

Banking on just taking kids to Somalia every year is just lazy imo. Unless they plan on staying for a few years, a few months of hanging with similar dhaqaan celis kids is a waste of time and money.

Somali parents really dropped the ball in ensuring that their kids learned the language. Horta, how then do the parents and kids communicate? Other cultures take pride in learning their native language but for us we see it as ilbaaxnimo to only speak English.
 
Somali parents failed their kids. Instead of practicing ESL on their children, they should've spoken to them in af Somaali. Most of the somalis in my area don't speak Somali, so when a habo or adeer see me, they speak to me in English and are SHOCKED when I respond back to them in Somali.

Sad, but true. We need to get it together. This generation is lost, so for the next generation, its important that parents speak to their kids in af somaali at home from a young age. That's what I intend on doing inshallah.

That's so true. When other Somali parents hear a child who is fluent in Somali in the west they are always shocked as if it's something so crazy. Children knowing somali should be normal but its sad cause only a few people speak it so when they do its seen as something remarkable.
 
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