Will you be able to pass the Somali language on to your children?

[Ubax45_]

If you have children, will you be able to pass on the language based on your current skills.

If not and it's important to you what do you plan on doing - trips to the motherland? Keeping them around grandparents ? ...etc

 

[Coulombs law]

Oh course, need to keep my pure somali genes and that also includes the mother tongue

 

[Codeine]

Nah. Luqada Somaliyeed ma taalo.

 

[Bahal]

Inshallah

My spoken Somali is not great but could be worse.

 

[Dino]

I actually feel sad for those somalis who can't speak their language. It's one of the reasons why some youth have no connection to their daqan and their somalinimo.

What's funny though is When i went to burco as a teenager i was reasonably confident about my somali. Only when i stepped down there i realised how pathetic my somali was. But i didn't take all the daqan celis to the heart lol. I actually benefitted because it only made me more determined to learn my somali. Wallahi our language is beautiful. people be proud of your language and make sure your kids are as well

 

[Ubax45_]

I'm seeing a lot of yes but at the same time there's so many youth with 2 parents that are full somali born and raised in dhulka hooyo but are still unable to formulate sentences.

Language learning has to be intentional, look at other immigrant groups they must speak their language at home and send their kids to weekend schools to learn reading and writing.

 

[madamelioness]

Yes, I speak Somali to my son. And use Somali lullabies to put him to sleep and recently started reading Somali children's books to him.

 

[GodKnowsBest]

Unfortunately not. Waan fahmi kara but speaking it is a whole other thing. You can't pass down a language without speaking it. I'll just take them to their ayeeyo's house for weekly lessons tbh.

 

[SomaliSteel]

Yes I will take them to the motherland on the summers, and speak only Somali at home. The only reason i speak so well myself is because my parents never speak English at home

 

[Gambar]

Yes, I speak Somali to my son. And use Somali lullabies to put him to sleep and recently started reading Somali children's books to him.

Mashallah walaashiis what books do you recommend?

 

[GodKnowsBest]

Yes I will take them to the motherland on the summers, and speak only Somali at home. The only reason i speak so well myself is because my parents never speak English at home

My parents speak Somali at home but I lost the mother tongue when I turned about 6 due to going to school and my older brothers tainting me by speaking English at home. Make sure they don' t get anything unless they respond to you in Somali.

 

[government]

Unfortunately not. Waan fahmi kara but speaking it is a whole other thing. You can't pass down a language without speaking it. I'll just take them to their ayeeyo's house for weekly lessons tbh.

How do you understand it but can't talk in it this thing confuses the hell out of me I've a lot of people like you and I don't understand. If you can understand it surely you can talk in it

 

[dhegdheer]

Funny story lmao my older brother and I fucked up Somali for our younger sibs because we kept speaking Danish around them instead of somali like our parents

So we both basically have a decent grasp on the language but the others are lost kkkkk

 

[Ubax45_]

How do you understand it but can't talk in it this thing confuses the hell out of me I've a lot of people like you and I don't understand. If you can understand it surely you can talk in it

Years of the parent speaking Somali and kids responding in English.

 

[GodKnowsBest]

Funny story lmao my older brother and I fucked up Somali for our younger sibs because we kept speaking Danish around them instead of somali like our parents

So we both basically have a decent grasp on the language but the others are lost kkkkk

I hate older siblings like you. I can't speak Somali because of people like you.

 

[GodKnowsBest]

How do you understand it but can't talk in it this thing confuses the hell out of me I've a lot of people like you and I don't understand. If you can understand it surely you can talk in it

When I attempt to speak in it I either forget the Somali translation of the word or my American accent is so thick I would embarrass myself by speaking in it. I spent a week at my ayeeyo's house a couple years back and I became nearly fluent in Somali again because I couldn't speak to her in English so maybe this summer I will spend a month at her place.

 

[Gibiin-Udug]

Yes I will.

 

[government]

Years of the parent speaking Somali and kids responding in English.

If my kids ever respond to me in English I will Them ain't got time for dhaqan celis children

 

[Ubax45_]

Theres also those kids that haven't stepped foot back home but speak like the older generation. I know people that did 4/5 year stints back home but lost it all a few years later due to lack of practice. It all starts in the home.

 

[madamelioness]

Mashallah walaashiis what books do you recommend?

I found a few online sis. You can find the popular children's books that kids are exposed to in nursery/school translated into af-Somali.

The ones I have are picture books - colours, fruits etc. He is still too young for the toddler books.

But we do need more Somali authors to produce books for Somali children.