From ABCs to ...
Before I became a parent, I noticed that way too many kids, born to Ethiopian parents and raised in a foreign country, do not speak Amharic or any other native languages. This observation bothered me deeply.
Now that I have a baby, the idea that he may not speak my native tongue worries me. So, I am working on tackling the issue and addressing it as early as possible. I basically try to always speak to him in Amharic.
Are you a parent? Do you want your kids to learn Amharic? Do you know a parent who has successfully taught their kids how to speak an Ethiopian language? Do you think it matters? Should we just let our kids learn English and that is it?
What do you guys think? I am curious.
I am not a parent yet, but I think it is important that kids learn to speak their mother's native tongue, since it is part of their heritage.
My sister and a couple of my friends found this DVD very helpful teaching their kids Amharic.
http://www.tsehai.com/home.html
Buchiye, I am so happy to hear that you're feeling better and goood to see your smiling face back :)
I think it is very important to teach your kids to speak amharic.I speak amharic to my kids ,but the problem started when my oldest daughter started going to school.she got confused and started talking only in english.I still talk to them in amharic and I am sure in time they will come around and start talking .They completely understand what i am saying,but use a mixture of both to reply .I think the best lesson you can give is just talk to them amharic at all times.I hope buchila learns to speak english,amharic and mandarin.kids are able to learn upto 5 languages .
I am also glad he is doing better.
My cousin(K's sister) and her husband have successfully managed to teach their American born kids all our customs. They can read, write and have all the the customs down to the point where you would think they came like 5 years ago. I'll email you her email address. Hope it helps.
Thanks for linking my blog by the way.
Feven, yes, I hear that happens, where the kids just sort of choose to speak in the predominant language but I think that corrects itself later. The important thing is not to make it a battle ground but to also continue speaking to them in the language you want them to learn.
C, I agree about language being tied to culture....
Shaz, thanks for the encouraging words.
Tsion, it sounds like your parent's consistent effort worked!
Thank you all for the encouragement!
I guess I arrived to his post a little late, here is what I think about this subject that rings close to home.
Yes, this is a great dilemma for most parents. I had similar experience as Feven. I am also a parent, who thinks it is very important that my children speak Amharic, most parents I know also would like for their kids to learn Amharic. It is not an easy or simple task, especially for busy working parents of America.
For the most part what I have seen work effectively is when the children, either have one stay at home parent or grandparent who speaks Amharic to them all the time, they frequently come in contact with others (large family members, community groups etc) who speak their language, or they visit Ethiopia frequently and stay there long enough to be immersed in the language. Generally, if parents are very persistent and have lot of patience they can teach their kids Amharic. I have seen it done, but personally I am not as successful as I would like to be with my youngest kid. My plan is to have her visit Ethiopia and learn by immersion.
To add to my comment, for a lot of Ethiopian immigrant families language gap has created and contributed to lot of social problem in communities around the states. From what I have seen with new immigrant families, most of the time the kids become proficient with the new language and the culture around them faster than their parents, which sometimes leads to a miss understanding between the generations. One more reason for parents to know that it is important for their children to learn Amharic.
You bring up a lot of good points, having a stay at home parent that speaks Amharic, I am sure, makes a huge difference. Otherwise, unless the kids go to a good Ethiopian day care, they will spend their day speaking English.
Also interesting points about the social problems created by the language gap between parents and their children. There is soooooo much to be said there.
Sokari, I think a lot of kids, after they grow up and become adults, they wish they had learned their parents language. So, I will keep that in mind even during the trying days.
Thank you all for your input and encouragement.
Someone who doesn't speak our language will never develop a sense for the tone in which we speak to older people for example, the way in which respect is shown without the use of such obvious things as 'please' and 'thank you'. I put a lot of thought into this, and I am passionate about my belief - a child must feel comfortable in his own language(s), it forms a part of his core identity, all else can and will be learned later.
My husband has a different point of view - a socio-economic one: what's the point of confusing a child by trying to teach it an economically unimportant language which is not useful in the world? Important is to learn English and (his language) German first. My agrument: yes there will be some confusion (I remember my little sister at the age of 3 putting English, Amahric, Tigringna, French and Swahili into one sentence). But children are not likely to suffer any permanent language-related problems as a result - eventually they learn to sort it out, and their lives are enriched forever.
What the best way is, I don't know - one parent speaking one language, the other the 'second' (and at school a third?), or all mixed up - there#s a lot of research on that, but I also wonder how many of those researchers grew up bi/trilingually, and depend on pure theory.
Here's another interesting aspect: what happens when the Buchela speaks a language that papa doesn't understand? How does it
make papa feel? I have a small suspicious that this explains at leats to some degree my hubby's very pragmatic approach.
It will be interesting to see the Buchela's progress....does he say anything yet? Mamiye? Momma? We'll watch and wait with you :-)))
I want him to learn Amharic because I want him to feel part of who I am. I want him to belong to Ethiopia. To understand people around him when he visits. To not feel like a stranger... after all, he already looks like a stranger! I don't want him to speak like a stranger... If I can help it.
But I do see your husband's point of view as well. By the way, research bears out the fact that kids could learn different languages with no problem and it does not put them in a disadvantaged position at all.
In all this, I have to be careful not to project my own identity issues that resulted from being rootless on to Lisan and become a neurotic about Ethiopianism and such. That will just push him away. I want to inject Ethiopia into our daily lives in the most mundane ways. Subtle... music, dancing, fun, play, games.
I am not a parent but I have two little cousins ages 4 and 7.
Both of them were born here but they speak Amharic as good as I do.
Their parents speak to them strictly in Amharic and about two years ago
they had a trip to Ethiopia which helped their Amharic greatly.
I think if you speak to him in amharic, he should be able to catch it.
Betty here. For me, the bottom line is, I want my kids to be who they are. Americans. Feel Americans and in-herit the culture and embrace it. Now, they know that mom is from Ethiopia. We read a lot about Ethiopia and its culture and sing children's songs. They know that they have a special heritage. I'm not fretting the language battle. Mind you if all the Europeans who constituted America shoved their language to their kids, what kind of America will there be today. We will vaccation in Addis and they will pick up few words. I will talk to them some as well. My children are smart as it is, I can't imagine what will become of them when they learn Amharic. Kidding aside, knowing another language is always a good thing. But it shouldn't be an identity thing.