Sikhs Of West And Punjabi Language - Why Nobody Talk About It?

[JSinghnz]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:08 PM, Ranjeet01 said:

For many decades , I have heard this type of talk about Punjabi not being spoken.

For every new generation you keep hearing the same thing.

This type of talk bores me and it is quite counterproductive. The more you slag off kids for not speaking the more you pit them off.

They have to enjoy speaking it.

If you are one of those theth smug types that has a feeling of superiority over the ones that can't speak then it is not doing any good.

This is not Punjab where you shame someone to do something, that kind of psychology won't work in the west.

 

Still the same problem that parents just don't want to teach or speak Punjabi to their children.

[JSinghnz]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:53 PM, Ranjeet01 said:

Most kids understand but reply back in English like you mention.

The environment is not necessarily conducive to speak.

Lots of parents from self respecting communities make their children speak their mother language but most Punjabis are ashamed of their own language and hence don't teach it to their kids.

[Redoptics]

4 hours ago, proactive said:

I always pull my nephews and nieces up because they always say "AAPAN" when they should be saying "ASEEN" for WE in English. You use AAPAN ( ਆਪਾਂ ) when you are talking about doing something which INCLUDES the person you are taking to and you say ASEEN ( ਅਸੀਂ  ) when you are going to do something that EXCLUDES that person.

ਅਸੀਂ ਘਰ ਚਲੇ ਹਾਂ - we are going home without you

ਆਪਾਂ ਘਰ ਚਲਦੇ ਹਾਂ  - let's go home 

I think something that anyone who has young kids should also be doing is inculcating the respectful Punjabi manners such as making sure that they always answer hanji - ਹਾਂਜੀ when they answer. 

 

Always use Hanji however noticed my cousins down south just use Ji, don't know if its a big issue.

[ChardikalaUK]

What's happening is inevitable. When a group of people move to another country where they are a minority the language disappears in a few generations. Just look at America, all of the non Anglo Europeans have lost their language whether it is the Italians, French, Germans.

[Premi5]

2 hours ago, ChardikalaUK said:

What's happening is inevitable. When a group of people move to another country where they are a minority the language disappears in a few generations. Just look at America, all of the non Anglo Europeans have lost their language whether it is the Italians, French, Germans.

Not if the religious identity is strong and the language is linked. E.g. Jews and Hebrew

[Ranjeet01]

10 hours ago, JSinghnz said:

Lots of parents from self respecting communities make their children speak their mother language but most Punjabis are ashamed of their own language and hence don't teach it to their kids.

Punjabis generally have this disconnect where they expect that their children are born speaking Punjabi without having to teach them. It's laziness because their priorities are elsewhere. 

It's like expecting kids to have big muscles without taking them to the gym.

[Jacfsing2]

3 hours ago, Premi5 said:

Not if the religious identity is strong and the language is linked. E.g. Jews and Hebrew

Jews have always lived in exclaves. Even in Europe there were specific Jewish areas. 

[Ranjeet01]

10 minutes ago, Jacfsing2 said:

Jews have always lived in exclaves. Even in Europe there were specific Jewish areas. 

Jews used Hebrew as a religious language but in Eastern Europe they spoke Yiddish. 

[proactive]

35 minutes ago, Ranjeet01 said:

Jews used Hebrew as a religious language but in Eastern Europe they spoke Yiddish. 

Hebrew was a dead language meaning it was only used for religious purposes and was not an everyday spoken language. A conscious effort was made to resurrect Hebrew into an everyday spoken language in Israel. This was successful, and  all Jews now wanting to settle permanently in Israel have to study Hebrew as part of the settlement process.  

[MisterrSingh]

1 hour ago, Ranjeet01 said:

Punjabis generally have this disconnect where they expect that their children are born speaking Punjabi without having to teach them. It's laziness because their priorities are elsewhere. 

It's like expecting kids to have big muscles without taking them to the gym.

Part of the same mentality that includes dropping kids off at Punjabi school on the weekend for 15 years of their life, and then wondering where it all went wrong when said kids end up marrying whites or blacks after university. The parents seem to think the kids just being in those "religious" buildings will somehow impart the necessary knowledge and values. That's not how it works at all, and it's something I'm still hearing from people of my age who are starting to drop their kids off at Saturday / Sunday school while undertaking virtually next to nothing themselves in the home.