Why are Somalis in the West losing the language so quickly?

[Soulei]

I can't speak too much for other countries (however my cousin in the UK told me it's a problem there too) but I've noticed that here in Canada a lot of kids do not know Somali whatsoever. I'm not talking about halfies or people who were adopted or situations like that, but full Somali kids who have two Somali immigrant parents and are born in Canada. I was born here and my Somali is not amazing either, (I can hold a conversation but my grammar could use some work). A lot of my Somali friends who were also born here don't really know Somali that well either.

I have also noticed that this is not really as big of an issue with other immigrant communities. Chinese kids born in Canada can speak Chinese fluently, Tamil kids also speak their language also, so on and so forth. Of course as you settle into a country and have children and they have children, language loss is inevitable, but this process is going on at a very fast pace with Somalis. You have people that were born in Somalia but came at a young age who don't speak the language well or know their culture. And imagine the second and third generation kids, the only Somali thing about them will be their looks and last name. Wallahi this is sad. I'm currently trying to perfect my Somali so I actually have something that I can teach my children.

Have you noticed this where you live and what do you think could be the underlying causes of this phenomenon? It's not that they weren't exposed to the language, from what I know most Somali parents speak Somali at home.

 

[Gambar]

Because some Somalis are under the impression that speaking Somali isn't as valuable as knowing English. Some think someone who speaks English fluently, with no accent, is ilbax and intelligent. Not all though. There a lot who speak perfect Somali.

 

[Bahal]

Yes, many of my younger cousins don't speak Somali at all, while some soeak better than I do.

It's all about the parents. If they don't speak Somali to their children and constantly reinforce the value of their culture and language, they will be the lol my Somali is suuuper bad :DDDDD of the future.

 

[DrippinglyWet]

Yeah Its a problem Whats worse is their are no institutions or channels which you can better/learn the language.

 

[Mohamud]

Tbh I see a distinct correlation between parents who are proficient in english and their kids not speaking the language well.

Also I see a correlation between the very first refugees and immigrants before and after the Civil War and Somali proficiency. Most people who arrived at that time were the main breadwinners for their entire families and responsible for displacing their kin to safer areas and sponsoring others. They were more than just preoccupied.

There's also an insidious thought process that "they can learn it anytime". This ia only half true and it needs to be dealt with.

It's not a black and white issue tbh.

 

[Yahya Liban-Lewis]

Because when your trapping out the bando are they talking Somali to you? No. To be honest, I love speaking in slang and in ebonics.

It's refreshing .

 

[SOMALI GENERAL]

Its a sad situation. Many young Somalis feel that Af Somali holds no "value", which is a retarded way of thinking.


The Asian youth in my area are fluent in their mother tongues & take pride in their culture & they are born & bred here. Tbh the parents have a big responsibility to teach the language, many just tolerate their children speaking ajnabi languages.

 

[Apollo]

Somali media is terrible (low quality, uninteresting generally).. Somali books are terrible...

So when you live in area with few Somalis, your Somali will naturally atrophy.

 

[Deactivated]

Image cold calling Somali farmers with "fam fam fam, and gang gang gang" after every jaajaab sentence.

 

[Gambar]

Tbh I see a distinct correlation between parents who are proficient in english and their kids not speaking the language well.

Also I see a correlation between the very first refugees and immigrants before and after the Civil War and Somali proficiency. Most people who arrived at that time were the main breadwinners for their entire families and responsible for displacing their kin to safer areas and sponsoring others. They were more than just preoccupied.

There's also an insidious thought process that "they can learn it anytime". This ia only half true and it needs to be dealt with.

It's not a black and white issue tbh.

Can you explain the correlation?

 

[Soulei]

Its a sad situation. Many young Somalis feel that Af Somali hold no "value", which is a retarded way of thinking.


The Asian youth in my area are fluent in their mother tongues & take pride in their culture & they are born & bred here. Tbh the parents have a big responsibility to teach the language, many just tolerate their children speaking ajnabi languages.

True. My cousin (who was born in Dijbouti) has a 3 yr old and when she came to visit us she was speaking to her mainly in English. When I asked if she was planning to teach her child Somali she was like "oh its okay as long as she understands, she doesn't need to know it here anyway".

This is a sad way of thinking. Language connects you to your culture and roots and without it there's automatically a disconnect.

 

[Ubax45_]

No value placed on the language.
But hey, were a forum of young Somali's speaking English to one another so what can we say?

 

[VixR]

Somali is hard. Has anyone even outlined the grammatical rules for teaching it or are we just winging it?

 

[Soulei]

Somali is hard. Has anyone even outlined the grammatical rules for teaching it or are we just winging it?

True, but Mandarin is even harder yet most Chinese kids can speak it without difficulty

 

[VixR]

True, but Mandarin is even harder yet most Chinese kids can speak it without difficulty

That's not true though. Most of these Asians out here have difficulty speaking their languages. In fact, they're more Westernized than the average first gen refugee African, and many have lived here for generations.

In the US, we have French, Spanish, German, and most recently, Mandarin immersion where kids can learn these languages from the 1st grade onward. Anyone from these backgrounds has the opportunity for their kids to have a leg up in learning their language.

 

[Arman]

There's been a recent trend of parents sending their kids to Somalia as some form of rehab in my area. The kids usually come back fluent.

 

[Deactivated]

Somali is hard. Has anyone even outlined the grammatical rules for teaching it or are we just winging it?

Wait can you speak Somali?

 

[Soulei]

That's not true though. Most of these Asians out here have difficulty speaking their languages. In fact, they're more Westernized than the average first gen refugee African, and many have lived here for generations.

In the US, we have French, Spanish, German, and most recently, Mandarin immersion where kids can learn these languages from the 1st grade onward. Anyone from these backgrounds has the opportunity for their kids to have a leg up in learning their language.

A third/fourth generation Asian American would definitely be more "whitewashed" than your average Somali with immigrant parents, but if you look at the ones who have a similar background (1st generation in Canada), on average they are more proficient in their native languages. But as I said earlier, it may be different in other countries, I'm just speaking for what I've seen here.

 

[Don]

Wait can you speak Somali?

Of topic but where is episode 7 in your channel?

 

[Deactivated]

Of topic but where is episode 7 in your channel?

Awww thanks for snooping around the Port

I deleted one and didn't organize them properly I guess.