The writer,Zamena Manekia-Manji (Bujumbura, Burundi) is a writer for TMJ News. Born and raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and currently residing in Bujumbura, Burundi, her writing has evolved from fiction to Islamic, contemporary, and historical writings. She works in the history and Islamic events department at TMJ News, where she previously worked as a breaking News writer. Zamena is also a writer for 313juniors, a YouTube channel that works to produce Islamic content for little children, trying to improve her writing with each task. Through her words, she hopes to shed some light on Islamic History and share her thoughts on contemporary views through an Islamic lens, slowly doing her part towards building a better and stronger society.
A
s a Khoja born and raised in Dar-es-Salaam, where Swahili is widely spoken, while studying in an English Medium school, my home was the only abode where my mother tongue-Gujrati was taught to me; A language, I once despised as a child in a quest to look cool in front of my friends.
My parents, grandparents and relatives played a huge role in ensuring our mother tongue prevailed. As Kids, we were obliged to speak to our elders in Gujrati, an arguably respectful dialect in comparison to English. This perhaps, is one of the most effective methods of preserving Gujrati or Kutchi- to have a house rule of only interacting with your mother tongue language with parents, siblings and relatives.
Today, as parents ourselves, we fear that our children might not grasp English and may get confused if several languages are spoken to them. Rather, quite the opposite happens. According to science, children who grow up learning two or more languages at school show better brain function, are more self-confident, their memory sharpens and they are even more capable of dealing with challenges and tasks, all while expressing better communication skills.
This is another method to preserve our mother tongue- to speak to our child in Gujarati/Kutchi exclusively. Trust me, they will learn English/French at school in no time. However, it is crucial to maintain a house rule of speaking in the mother tongue. If other members, especially the parents, at home speak to the child in English/French., the child will eventually grasp the same language. Grandparents play an equal and important role.
The Khoja communities across the globe, play a poignant role in preserving our heritage, through our mother tongue. We need to realize that most people of our generation cannot read or write Gujarati. This further underscores the importance of ensuring Gujarati is spoken widely. Communities could initiate Gujarati classes, with the elderly of our community engaging with young children in a fun way- complete with screens and gadgets to accommodate interesting sessions. As homework, children can be asked to seek assistance from their grandparents to initiate active interaction in Gujarati/Kutchi.
Another simple yet effective method would be engaging community children in story-time sessions with the elderly, at a community library where the elderly can translate the age-old Gujarati classic comics and also recall the golden stories passed down to them by their ancestors.
With effort and determination from both Khoja families and the community at large, we will be able to preserve our precious mother tongue in countries we aren’t indigenous to, cherishing the noble works of our forefathers, who moved out of their homeland to pave a better future for all of us.
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The writer, Zamena Manekia-Manji (Bujumbura, Burundi) is a writer for TMJ News. Born and raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and currently residing in Bujumbura, Burundi, her writing has evolved from fiction to Islamic, contemporary, and historical writings. She works in the history and Islamic events department at TMJ News, where she previously worked as a breaking News writer. Zamena is also a writer for 313juniors, a YouTube channel that works to produce Islamic content for little children, trying to improve her writing with each task. Through her words, she hopes to shed some light on Islamic History and share her thoughts on contemporary views through an Islamic lens, slowly doing her part towards building a better and stronger society.
