Why Do Most Parents In West Not Teach Punjabi To Their Children?

[Singh559]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqd4MflTLt4

If people in Punjab don't respect the language, it shouldn't be surprising Punjabis who move to the west have a similar mentality. The whole payd chaal mentality.

[Cisco_Singh]

This is a result of the "gorafied" generation...the same types who cant actually speak much punjabi themselves and for some reason suffer from a sort of inferiority complex....they think it's embarrasing to speak punjabi or that for some reason english is superior.

It's also these type pf parents who have very little Sikhi or cultural knowledge. These days children who speak punjabi well probably live in extended familys with their grandparents who speak punjabi with them hence they learn from a young age in which respect they are very lucky.

The "gorafied" generation is also the same generation that generally is very ignorant and adshamed of Sikhi saroop and tend to be "monay" as a rsult they get married to similar mindsetted people...The result... the next generation is going to be even worse off...

[VanHelsingh]

@ Cisco_Singh - Yup that's the term I was looking for - "gorafied". By the way nobody is knocking our white brothers at all, because they aren't telling us to not to learn our language. It's just that our people come to these decisions by themselves for some strange reason.

Funnily enough most of the white people I've encountered do like to see people adhere to the positive aspects of their culture whatever it may be (aside from the bigots of course). They're very curious about certain traditions of ours, and they think it conveys a sense of loyalty and strength of character if a person retains aspects of their culture despite living in a foreign country. If only some of our own folk weren't so dense.

[simran345]

Because they don't mix with punjabi community. If they live a "gora" area then they are more likely to speak english with them. Some parents although do teach their children punjabi, but others like others said, do not know much punjabi themselves, or have gone to colleges, universities with no punjabi or very few friends. If they have not been speaking punjabi themselves then the children are only going to learn what their parents speak.

I think its great to be bi-lingual, multilingual. They should speak punjabi at home aswell as english, so the children are able to speak some punjabi instead of just saying "Dod" for milk, and "jiddaa jidaaa kidaa jidaa" with everything,.lolz

[RebelSingh]

LOOOL hav u guys seen a panjabi movie called "munde uk de"? hahaha, oh my days, u get bare of those comments, like, jidda, kidda instead of jiddha, kiddha.

regarding coconutism, hopefully nxt generation will pick up, where perhaps their parents failed, dont kno how, but lets hope.

my parents cannot read or write panjabi, as both my parents were very young when they came 2 this country (mum=6, dad=9), so neither can remember how to read/write in panjabi. But they both speak panjabi impeccably, and i can read/write tho (not very quick, but i get there).

like most panjabis in the west, fom the age of 0-5 u speak really gud panjabi, then u get 2 school, n u cant speak english, so u put 100% into ur english, and think that panjabi will always b @ the back of ur mind, n u cant possibly forget it. But then u realise @ 11-15 yrs old, ur panjabi is Sh..., so then kids think, aah who cares now!

in recent years, ive been watchin panjabi cinema, with subtitles and also listen non-stop 2 bhangra, find the lyrics translations into english, and my panjabi has improved 100%. Ask ur parents wat certain words mean to. Every new awkward/Okha word i find the meaning of, i write into a black book and try 2 memorise its meanings. On my blackberry i got panjabi dictionary links 2 sites such as "ijunoon" and "shabadkosh".

[singher23]

I can read punjabi and understand most of it. But I can't speak it very well. When I was young that was the only language I knew, but now...

I feel sad often that I don't know my own language. Recently I've been doing with the poster above me does, writing down punjabi words, watching punjabi movies, going on dictionaries....almost the exact same things. But it's not that my parents didn't teach me, it's just that once I started going to school, I stopped speaking it. And now I want to, but it's just sooo awkward suddenly talking in punjabi to my parents again.

So what I do is that I try to speak in punjabi to myself. I tell myself stories and talk to myself about my day in punjabi. It's really weird, but it has improved a lot recently, but I have no one to correct me if my grammar is wrong or something.

What would be really great is if some people on here with webcams and stuff would be willing to work with others who don't know punjabi. Just talk to each other in punjabi for like 30 mins a day. That way we can all work together to end this problem

[matey123]

LOOOL hav u guys seen a panjabi movie called "munde uk de"? hahaha, oh my days, u get bare of those comments, like, jidda, kidda instead of jiddha, kiddha.

hahah iv seen that movie that was the most boringest movie i have ever seen lol

[S1ngh]

I never take non-punjabi speaking person seriously if we are in a group talking about core Sikh issues..

Regardless how panth dardi or panthic you are, if you do not try to learn, speak or write our mother language then my friend you are not serious about Sikh issues. If we are not proud of our boli then I don't know what we are...

Excuse me those who say all languages are same and it doesn't matter for a Sikh not knowing punjabi. Language is foundation in order to learn about our culture and history.. surely books are translated but reading it in our own Gurmukhi lipi is another raas.

[matey123]

correct singh.

[RebelSingh]

hahah iv seen that movie that was the most boringest movie i have ever seen lol

ur the only person ive heard who didnt like that film, we were all laughin at the movie, especially gurpreet gugghi, who was tryna b a coconut english panjabi, but sounded more canadian/yank.